Second Chance
by Tri17
Summary: Post 4th War. A dark truth in a dark room; a preserved body; a revival jutsu... It was fate that led her to him. Sakura needed a test subject for her revival jutsu and Itachi deserved a second chance at life. She could give him that chance. ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1: Life Rebirth Technique

So in 2006 I published my first Naruto fanfiction, a Sakura/Itachi story. It was cheesy, lackluster, cliche, and just all around bad. But it garnered nearly 600 reviews. Now, five years later, I'm back to trying my hand at a Sakura/Itachi story that I've worked endless hours on. I wrote this merely to gauge my growth over the years and I'm rather proud at what I've accomplished.

**Note: **This story still follows canon Naruto chapters- meaning, Itachi is dead, Naruto can go Nine-tails mode, and Sasuke hates Konoha with a burning passion. This story takes place about five years after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. At the time of posting this story, the most recent Naruto chapter is 554, so any events that occur in the Naruto manga after chapter 554 may or may not be included. So I suppose I should say, this story is canon up to chapter 554. **If you are not familiar with the current Naruto chapters, then please be warned that I may include spoilers in this story, or reference events that occurred the manga. I rarely watch the Naruto anime, so most information is from the manga. **

Hope you enjoy!

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><p><strong>Second Chance<strong>

Tri17

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><p><span>Chapter One: <span>_Life Rebirth Technique_

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><p><em>By using chakra to speed up the rebirth of cells, a person can gain a form of "immortality". By applying this same concept to a person who has been killed in battle, it may be possible to revive them by repairing all the old, damaged cells, and replacing them with live cells that are able to reproduce. By applying enough chakra to stimulate the cells into a regular rebirth cycle, these new cells can live without the aid of constant chakra. Eventually, the deceased should be able to revive themselves, assuming everything is healed up and their cells can reproduce and function normally. <em>

_However, the problem remains with getting the person to revive. There is a strong possibility that with the lack of oxygen to the brain, there could be lasting brain damage. This can likely be solved by stimulating the cells in the brain to revive and reproduce, making sure each new cell is a "good" cell- as in one without anomalies. The other problem is getting the "soul", per se, of the person back. There are rumors of being able to transfer one's own "life-force" in exchange for a soul; the actual results of such a test are unknown. Most cases, it is considered to be an equal exchange of souls- in essence, a sacrifice of some sort. To work around this sacrificial problem, the healer can transfer their own life-force to try and revive the person. _

_This jutsu would take considerable amounts of chakra and a long prep period, thus meaning the deceased person could not be allowed to decompose. The prep period would probably take months, as well as storing enough chakra needed. Each cell must be functioning in the person before life-force can be transferred, since the person must be able to revive on their own so that not a large amount of life-force is used. If too much of the healer's life force is used up, the healer will die. There is also a large risk of chakra depletion that goes along with the transferring of life-force energy. _

Sakura put down the scroll, rubbing her eyes. She finally had a good idea of how to complete her Life Rebirth Jutsu, something she had been working on for several years. After seeing Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu, Sakura always had the idea that revival of a deceased person was possible, without causing the death of the healer. By using her mentor's own Creation Rebirth Technique, Sakura had possibly figured out a way to restore life. It had taken her three years of experimenting and studying the immense amounts of medical jutsus, and mastering Tsunade's Creation Rebirth Technique, but finally Sakura knew she could do it. She had written so many notes and scrolls explaining the concept of her jutsu and she really believed she could accomplish the one thing Tsunade had never been able to.

Sakura rolled up the scroll, closing her eyes. Tsunade was in her fifties, late fifties, and she had never figured out this type of jutsu. Sakura was only twenty-one; barely twenty-one, and yet she thought she had figured out this revival jutsu. But it was all right there. The calculations, the explanations, the healing techniques, the chakra needed; everything was there! She just needed to practice and get better. Sakura was the top medical ninja of her generation, the second best medical ninja in the world, second only to her mentor, Tsunade. And she was only twenty-one! If she could do this, this one little jutsu, she would establish her place in the world; show the world why she was chosen to be Tsunade's student and why she was named the top medical ninja of her generation.

Sakura glanced over at the clock, sighed, and put away her scrolls. She still had to work tomorrow so there was no point in staying up late to try and do this jutsu when she definitely didn't have enough chakra for it. Tomorrow, once she got home, she would make another seal, the Yin Seal that Tsunade had showed her. She already had one on her forehead, deciding to follow in her mentor's footsteps. This next seal, though, would go on her wrist.

Then she would start reviving rats and dogs and more animals. She would succeed in this jutsu. It was her only goal now. It was the only thing keeping her going, now that peace had finally been restored.

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><p>When Naruto had fought against Madara, it was the scariest moment in the world. There were several ninjas helping him, of course- Tsunade, Kakashi, Gaara, Killer Bee, Sai, and the other Kages. Sakura wanted to help. She truly did. But she was there, standing beside Hinata, watching the most cataclysmic battle in the entire world, and yet she could do nothing. Oh, she healed the ninjas when they were hurt, but that was all she could do.<p>

The finishing blow, though, was what was engraved in her mind forever. The golden, fiery flaming Naruto thrusting his black, crackling Tailed Beast Rasengan blast into Madara's chest; she felt like Naruto wasn't the only one aiming that blast. For only a split second, she saw the Fourth Hokage standing there with Naruto, his arm outstretched and merged with his, their Rasengan's joined together. Sakura saw a red-haired woman standing beside Naruto, holding tightly onto his shoulders. She saw Jiraiya helping the Fourth Hokage and Naruto, adding his own Rasengan blast to the mix. She saw Nagato and Pain and Konan all behind Naruto, aiding him in their own special way. And for a split second, she could have sworn she saw Itachi Uchiha, his own black, fiery blast merging with Naruto's.

But within a second, those images disappeared and Naruto was left triumphantly standing over Madara's corpse, finally beating him and ending his reign of terror and the Fourth Shinobi World War. It had taken so long.

Of course, there was much more to do and accomplish, but before Naruto could help restore peace, there was one final thing their team, Team 7, had to finish. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura- they all knew they needed to find and finish Sasuke. He was the last problem that prevented their peace.

When they eventually did find Sasuke, Sakura didn't speak to him. She didn't even acknowledge him. She decided she had failed too many times before and was only going to be here to heal Naruto after the battle was over or during the course of the battle. This was Naruto's battle. Kakashi was there to save Naruto should things turn sour and Sakura was there to heal Naruto.

And she left it at that. The two boys did fight and it was hard, harder fought than when Naruto fought against Madara. The final blow came down to, ironically, Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan. But this time, Sakura didn't run to stop them. She stood her ground and decided that she would either use her hands to heal (if Naruto rose) or kill (should Sasuke rise). This would end here, she decided, and this time, her resolve was pure steel.

That moment felt like eternity. The dust cleared. Two bodies stood, almost embracing each other. Sakura held her breath. Naruto slumped to the ground, Sasuke's hand protruding out his back. Sakura closed her eyes, clenched her fists.

She got ready to move. She would end the fight and this time for good. She took one step. Kakashi put his arm out and stopped her, shaking his head. She opened her eyes and saw Sasuke withdraw his hand from Naruto's back, staring at the blood. Then she saw him cough up blood and slump to the ground. Kakashi withdrew his arm and the two sprinted off to the boys. Kakashi restrained Sasuke and Sakura healed Naruto, healing him with every ounce of chakra in her body.

She could still remember when he opened his blue eyes and grinned at her, giving her a small smile and a thumbs up. _"I kept my promise of a lifetime,"_ he told her, and fell unconscious. He was such a fool, Sakura knew, but she smiled, crying, and nodded. They picked Naruto up and Sasuke, who Sakura made sure to put into a heavy sleep, and they returned home, this time, for good.

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><p>Sakura walked into the hospital, getting the regular greetings from her staff. Despite being so young, she commanded total respect and awe from every medical ninja- after all, not even Tsunade was as medically advanced as Sakura was at that age. Sakura was the director of the hospital, a gift Tsunade bestowed upon her shortly after Sakura turned nineteen. Shizune helped out occasionally, but she was first and foremost Tsunade's assistant. Sakura wasn't, and so hospital responsibility fell to her shoulders.<p>

"Sakura-sama, we've had three nurses call off today and we're understaffed," her prime assistant began. "Furthermore, we've gotten word that an entire squad of ninjas are on their way back from a bad mission and are critically wounded. What do you want us to do?" It was only 9:00. Too early for crisis, but it was the hospital and it wouldn't be a typical day without at least _one _thing going wrong.

"Call in Shizune and Ino. They can help with the ninja squad. Distribute the rest of the medical files to the other nurses, and try to remember their capabilities. I'm going to go ahead and try to work through as many as I can until the wounded ninja come in." With that, Sakura took a large stack of patient files and went to work. At exactly 10:16, Sakura got the call that the ninja squad had arrived. She looked at the ninja she was giving a regular check-up to (who just happened to be Neji Hyuuga) and frowned.

"Sorry, Neji-san, but that's my call. I can have another nurse finish the exam or you can come back tomorrow and I'll get to you first thing. It's your choice."

"I'll see you tomorrow," he told her and Sakura nodded, apologizing once more for good measure. Neji shook his head. "I understand. I'm not critically wounded- they are. Go; save their lives. You're needed there; not here." Smiling, she nodded, and rushed out of the room, already pulling on latex gloves and fastening her medical coat tighter. She walked into the emergency room and saw the five ninjas. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and plunged into the chaos.

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><p>The hardest lesson she ever had to learn was death. Sakura had a flawless mortality rating (as in, for every patient that was solely her's, she was able to save; after all, she couldn't account for mistakes other nurses made) for the first six years as a medic. Then, at eighteen, she couldn't save her patient. She tried; kami, she tried so hard. She wasted all her chakra trying to heal him.<p>

When Shizune pulled her away from him, Sakura was in hysterics. Her hands were burnt from the overuse of chakra. She was trembling and sobbing, knowing she couldn't do anything. Shizune told her that she had done everything she possibly could, that sometimes, not everyone could be saved. Sakura shook her head, told Shizune she could have saved him if she had just healed his lungs first. Then she could have stopped him from suffocating on his own blood. But she hadn't. She had worked on the largest wound, the gaping hole in his stomach. If only she would have realized how deadly his lung wound was. She could have saved him. She could have saved him...!

It was Tsunade who broke her out of her hysterics. She was not in the mood to see Sakura break down over one patient.

_"Death goes hand-in-hand with life. As an advanced medical kunoichi, you should have realized this by now. You make mistakes. You lose a life. You tried your best, though. You did what you thought was right, Sakura. So snap out of this state because we need you. You're going to kill more patients by feeling sorry for yourself and being depressed. Get over it! If you want to repent for that life, pick yourself up, and heal! Heal with more vigor! Learn from your mistakes and you'll become a much better medical ninja! So stop this crying, go home and take a shower, eat, and sleep, and come back here tomorrow with your head held high and know that you have lives to save!" _

Sakura did as she was told. Since then, she had lost three more patients. Two were too far gone to save- she tried to save them, but they were brought to her too late. The other one was partly her fault because she forgot to check for poison and by time she had stabilized him enough, the poison was too far spread. Sakura did everything she could to save him, though. In the same way she did for all her other patients.

Her patient death total, however, was still pending. She had done everything she could for the ninja squad. But the last member- a man only a few years older than her- was so close to death. She had exhausted every muscle in her body. She had used all her chakra. She had done everything she could to stabilize him; truly she had.

Sakura slumped against the wall outside the hospital. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cool night's air. All day she had been working on him; on those other four ninja, too. She hadn't eaten, rested, anything. She had healed and healed and healed some more.

"Hey," someone spoke to her. Sakura glanced up, seeing her long-time rival and best-friend. Ino leaned against the wall, looking up at the moon. "You did everything you could. You saved the other four."

"But the other one died." Sakura felt the swell of disappointment and failure well up in her stomach. She felt like she would be sick. It didn't matter how many years she did this job- she would never lose the feeling after someone died. Even if they weren't her patient; even if she had given responsibility of healing a patient over to another nurse; no matter what, it still hurt. Death always bothered her, especially when the death was ultimately blamed on her and her incompetence. She could _always_ have done something more, at least it felt that way.

"No. Shizune is healing him now. I did all I could but... Well, I can't compare to you or Shizune." Sakura nodded, some relief flooding her body. "Look, you should probably go home for some rest. Or at least crash in the nurses' office and sleep for a little while. Shizune has enough chakra to hopefully stabilize him through the night. Tomorrow, you can heal him some more. He'll make it, okay?" Ino smiled. "But, as a fellow nurse, you need to rest! Your chakra is horribly depleted! You're in no condition to heal anymore!" Sakura nodded, releasing her held breath. The shinobi would live. She had saved his life, at least partially.

"You did really good work today, Ino." Ino shook her head.

"I didn't really do anything. It was you who worked endlessly from each ninja. All I did was stabilize the ninja until you could come over and fix him. You're the true medic, Sakura." Of course Sakura was the true medic. That was all she was good at: medical jutsu. She couldn't remember the last time she had been on an actual, non-medical related mission.

"I'm going to go lay down," Sakura told Ino, finally standing up and going back into the hospital. "I'll relieve Shizune after my chakra returns. Don't let my patient die, Ino."

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><p>Sakura could say that she was <em>only <em>a medical ninja, but there wasn't complete truth in that. She still had some other ninja qualities that made her slightly unique besides her advanced medical jutsu, chakra control, and knowledge. For one, she had taken after Tsunade and had nearly mastered Tsunade's chakra-enhanced strength. Tsunade was still better at throwing a chakra punch, but Sakura could easily hold her own against any other ninja. Her fists were always a force to be reckoned with, considering they could easily shatter bones with a simple touch.

Two, she had a rather good genjutsu knowledge. She had decided to hone her abilities as a genjutsu user, except Sakura realized she wasn't very good at making her own genjutsus. But spotting genjutsu- there was no ninja better in the village than her, besides the ninjas with bloodlines that allowed them to see genjutsus. But for a regular, non kekkai-genkai user, Sakura was number one in spotting genjutsus and disabling them. It was something she was good at when she was twelve and she decided to hone that skill much more when she got older.

Third, Sakura was amazing at dodging. She had relatively good speed and stamina—thanks to Tsunade's training. Her flexibility was above par, too. After all, as a medical ninja, Sakura had to be able to dodge attacks and keep herself alive if she were to keep her comrades alive. If the medic died on the team, who would be there to heal the others? That was why Sakura had made sure to keep up her dodging ability and avoidance skill. It was imperative for a medical ninja to have amazing evasive skills.

Fourth, and finally, Sakura could still call herself a kunoichi. She could still seduce and allure men and use her charms to complete a mission, but again, that was something she rarely did- it was more Ino's area to seduce and kill. It was something she was trained in, though, and something she could still say she had accomplished before. After all, every kunoichi had to be a good actress. Their original purpose was to seduce and kill and spy. Sakura couldn't be a good kunoichi without having the traditional skills.

Other than those four things, Sakura was a basic ninja. She was highly intelligent, of course, but she had basic ninjutsu skills (excluding medical related ninjutsu), average chakra levels and slightly poor strength (that wasn't enhanced by chakra). But that was okay. Sakura wasn't meant to fight- she had accepted that fact a long time ago. She was meant to heal and aid others. She could do that by mastering her medical training and by becoming a good genjutsu user (or good in the sense that she could disable the most elaborate genjutsus; Sakura never had been able to cast very elaborate genjutsus or even make her own).

It wasn't Tsunade that had trained her in everything. Everything taijutsu and medically related, Tsunade did train her in. Poisons and such were Shizune's field, though Tsunade helped her along as well. But for genjutsu training, Sakura sought out another naturally good genjutsu user: Kurenai. Kurenai did teach Sakura a little of what she knew and though Sakura didn't train under her long (less than six months), she learned a decent amount, and the rest Sakura figured out on her own. It was these abilities, though, that allowed Sakura to pass the jounin exams when she was eighteen.

She was proud of herself and her abilities. Sure, she wasn't a Naruto, but she was more like a Tsunade, and there was only one of her in the entire world. And one day, Sakura decided, she would surpass Tsunade and become the top medical ninja in the entire world.

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><p>"He'll be fine," Sakura told the ninja's team members. "I re-checked and he should be up and around within the week. He just needs plenty of rest and no physical activity for at least two weeks. And then no missions for at least a month. After that, though, bring him back and I'll check to see if he's cleared for missions. He should be released from the hospital in the next two or three days."<p>

"Thank you, Sakura-sama," one of ninjas told her. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to see some other patients," she told them, to which they nodded. It was another person saved but yet, she still had so much left to do and accomplish.

"All right, first up, let's finish up Neji's examination," Sakura told herself, picking up Neji's file and a cup of coffee to help her throughout her day. Sighing, she knew it was going to be a very long day at that.

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><p>"Sakura-chan, you should come out with us to celebrate!" Sakura continued to look down at her papers, writing reports and signing things for the hospital. "Come on, Sakura-chan! Let Shizune handle the place for a little while. You've been cooped up here all day!" Sakura finally glanced up at the group surrounding her desk. In front of her was her other best friend, the Hokage-in-training, Naruto. Behind him, reclining in her chair was her other teammate and close friend, Sai. And leaning against her wall, reading his customary book was her first sensei, Kakashi.<p>

"You don't really get out too much, Sakura. A little break every once in awhile won't hurt. After all, we should celebrate that someone is finally taking Naruto off our hands," it was Kakashi that was telling her this. Sakura rubbed her eyes, sighing.

"For Hinata," she finally said. "I haven't spoken to her in a while so it'll be nice to talk to her. What time am I supposed to meet you guys? And where? Please don't tell me Ichiraku Ramen."

"No, we're going to the tea shop next to the Academy instead," Naruto told her frowning. "And be ready around seven, if you can." Sakura nodded. "We'll see you there?"

"Yeah. I'll see you guys there." Naruto grinned and reached across her desk, hugging her. "Ack, Naruto, be careful! Don't mess up my papers!" He laughed, sheepishly rubbing his head.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!" Keeping his customary grin, he waved to her and jumped out of her office, Kakashi and Sai following behind. In the hallway, Sakura could hear him ask, "Hey, do you think Tsunade-baa-chan will let us take Sasuke-teme out of prison to celebrate with us?"

"Naruto, you're stupid if you think she would," was Sai's reply. Sakura shook her head, returning back to her work.

_Sasuke_. That was a name that still brought a bitter taste to her mouth. Nearly five years since they had brought him back to the village. Technically, he should have been put to death immediately, but Naruto begged and pleaded with the council to figure something else out with him. Finally, they sealed Sasuke's chakra away and locked Sasuke up in high-security prison. Sakura was the one to disable his Sharingan, which she did almost gladly. She severed all the chakra pathways to his eyes, nearly leaving him blind.

They told Sasuke they were going to give him several years in prison but his sentence might be lessened if he agreed to reinstate himself as a Konoha shinobi and work for the village again. Sasuke refused, spitting at them for the suggestion. Naruto told Sasuke that until he came to terms with his position, Sasuke would be left in the prison cells to rot. He told Sasuke it was a waste of his abilities and a pitiful end to the Uchiha clan. Sasuke became silent after that.

Naruto visited him a lot, Sakura knew. When Naruto wasn't on a mission, it was almost daily. Kakashi had started visiting him, too, over the past few years. At first, Kakashi avoided Sasuke, but after realizing Sasuke had made no attempts to escape from prison, he decided to try and persuade his student to come to terms with the Konoha shinobi.

Sakura had been the one to not go and see him very often. She could count on both hands how many times she had visited him. Nine times in five years. Naruto told Sakura that Sasuke had asked about her, figuring she would be as adamant as Naruto was, and visit him almost every day. Naruto said Sasuke asked about her and what she was up to, to which Naruto replied she was a highly successful medical ninja and she was in charge of the hospital.

When Sakura did finally visit him for the first time, it was only in a group with Naruto and Kakashi. She had remained silent the entire visit. The next few visits were the same, though they were sporadic. When she visited him the first time without Naruto there, it was to ask him only about his eyes. She was wondering if his vision had increased any since the procedure. Sasuke told her it had, though his eyes still burned. Sakura nodded and apologized, though they both knew it was a lie. Sasuke finally asked her why she hadn't been visiting him. Sakura replied honestly, saying she was too busy and she didn't really _want_ to see him. He accepted that.

Sakura had visited Sasuke one more time after that, with Kakashi, about eight months ago. Sasuke had paid her very little mind and Sakura was okay with that, figuring she really didn't want to speak with Sasuke nor see him. Something about the sight of him made her stomach churn and her mouth turn sour. He wasn't someone that Sakura liked, in any sense of the word. It was definitely a sharp contrast to her feelings from five years ago, or even nine years ago.

And Sakura liked that. It finally proved that she had matured and grown up, and gotten over her long-time obsession with Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura didn't need him to be happy. She didn't need his approval, his love, or his friendship. All Sakura needed to be happy was herself. By knowing she was independent and strong, and understanding that her worth wasn't tied to Sasuke or Naruto or even Team Seven, then Sakura was fine.

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><p>It had been a long time since Sakura had spent time with a relatively large group of people. She had decided to dress appropriately for the occasion (especially because her medical uniform and her blue top and pants had been covered in blood from one last patient she had seen before she left for the day) so she had ran home to change clothes, thus making her a little late.<p>

"Sakura-chan, you came!" Sakura nodded and smiled, smoothing down her black skirt.

"Sorry, there was one last emergency I had to take care of before I left and it left me a little messy. I had to run home and change and take a shower before I came." Sakura looked at Hinata, who was wearing a beautiful teal top and striking black capris that accentuated her curves. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and she was even wearing make-up and dressy heeled sandals. Sakura had always thought of herself as a rather pretty girl, but standing next to Hinata, she felt oddly inferior.

Comparing herself to Hinata, Sakura looked like crap. Her black skirt was wrinkled and her red top (nothing more than a sleeveless top with the ever typical white circle on it) didn't fit her form that well. Her shoes were her regular shinobi sandals and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked like she had just come home from work and thrown something on, which was pretty much true. However, Sakura was first and foremost a medical ninja and her job came before her personal life and her appearance. Still... maybe next time she would spend a little more time on her appearance.

"Please Sakura-san, sit here," Hinata offered, her voice soft and sweet. The entire atmosphere was calming and tranquil, which was something Sakura had to appreciate seeing as how her last few hours had been filled with nothing but pain-filled screams, chaos, and blood.

"Ah, thank you," Sakura replied, snapping out of her thoughts. She was tired and she knew she would rather be at home, working on her revival jutsu instead of eating out with Team Seven and Team Eight, but Sakura decided she needed to support Naruto and Hinata's engagement.

The dinner dragged on with idle chatter and Sakura felt herself in a state of half-awareness. She was tired and though she tried to make nice, light conversation, her mind kept wandering back to her revival jutsu and her nice, soft bed. It was Kakashi who finally took notice to her half-asleep state.

"Sakura, maybe you should go on home. I think you're looking pretty exhausted." Sakura nodded gratefully.

"I am. Today was a long day," she murmured, reaching into her purse to get out the money. Hinata stopped her, shaking her head.

"Please, Sakura-san let me. It's the least I can do to show my thanks for your coming." Sakura smiled and nodded, too tired to decline her offer.

"Maybe you should ask for some time off, Sakura-chan," Naruto suggested, looking worriedly at the dark circles under her eyes. Sakura shook her head and stood up.

"No, I'll be fine. I just need some sleep. Thanks guys and I'll see you around," she told them, somewhat halfheartedly. In truth, she usually only saw her friends in the hospital and very rarely outside of there. She left the tea-shop and walked home slowly, too tired to transport herself home. She was just too tired for anything.

* * *

><p><em>The rat was revived for a total of five seconds before it underwent cardiac arrest. The problem seemed to be in the sudden shock of being dead and then coming alive. A calming chakra will have to be placed over the subject before the actual revival can take place.<em>

_Reviving the rat took almost half of total chakra. If a rat is around 1/9 the size of a normal human, then it would take 9x the chakra to heal, meaning at least three seals are needed, all of which must have max chakra stored. _

Sakura put down her pen and frowned. It had been a week and her tests were going, well, rather smoothly. Sakura felt proud of her progress and excited. However, she knew she was going to run into a large problem that she really didn't want to face.

She would need someone to test this jutsu out on. She didn't want to steal a body from the morgue nor did she want to experiment on an enemy ninja. She wasn't going to dig up bodies from graves; and whoever she revived, she needed that person to be a rather strong ninja, since that was the type of person she would probably be using her completed jutsu on. Not only that, but the person couldn't be someone who someone else would miss. And they had to be recently killed or at least, their body needed to be preserved and not be allowed to decompose.

It was a large problem and Sakura realized she would have to figure out a solution sooner than later, but she didn't need to completely worry about it until she was at that stage. Which, judging from her success, would be in a month or two.

That sent a tingle of excitement through her body. There was nothing like making a new medical jutsu that could save lives, or in this case, revive them. It was the ultimate medical jutsu, should it work successfully.

"That's another thing I've got to do!" Sakura exclaimed, dropping her pen. She whirled around in her chair, shifting through a pile of papers and notebooks and opening a few scrolls. She frowned; not finding what she needed, and stood up, going over to her large bookshelf of medical books.

That was one amazing thing about Sakura's job- the amount of money she was paid. She had to have one of the highest paying jobs in the village, which was well worth it, since her job was one of the most stressful. Sure, the ANBU had stressful jobs, but she did as well. The ANBU were trained to not care about who they killed or who they saved. It was all a matter of missions and succeeding. Sakura didn't have that option. Her hands were made to heal and give life, not take it. And then there were the decisions she had to make that could result in life or death.

Sakura stopped looking at the books, frowning. She supposed that wasn't a fair judgment of the ANBU. They were surely as human as she was and furthermore, had just as much responsibility and guilt and decision-making as she did. All in all, maybe they were equal. It was jobs of equal importance, and she had to respect that.

Anyways, she thought, returning to her musing about her salary, her house was rather large compared to Naruto's old shabby apartment, or even Kakashi's. Sakura had an actual house a few blocks away from the hospital, and it was a decent sized home with two bedrooms, an office area, a large kitchen, a living room, and a large bathroom. The rooms were spacious and she had enough room outside to possibly add on to her house if she so pleased. The largest room in the house, though, was her office area. It was technically supposed to be some sort of rec-room, as there were steps leading from the kitchen down to it. But spanning across the room were her bookshelves, which lined each wall except one. They were full of medical books and medical jutsu and scrolls of jutsu- like genjutsu scrolls or medical scrolls. And, of course, her medical notes and notebooks about her experiments made up an entire shelf.

Her desk was located right in the center of the room and it was also very long and large, about the size of a dining room table. On her final wall were her filing cabinets that held all the papers and scrolls she had written. Finally, in a room adjoining her office was her experimental room which held all her animals that she tested on, and would be the area where she would finally perform her revival jutsu, since the room held all her medical tools and seals and such.

Sakura finally found the books she was looking for and brought them back to her desk. Most were notebooks that had information on Kabuto Yakushi and Orochimaru, both of who had been successful in reviving the dead. As she read through the books, her fears were brought to light.

_Every test subject had lost their own will and mind. Some, like Kabuto's, retained their personality and memories, but only did what Kabuto asked of them. These revived people would be considered "puppets."_

What would keep her test subjects from losing their will? Then again, Chiyo had revived Gaara and he had retained all of his will and mind without any adverse side-effects. Sakura tapped her pen against her cheek. If she could infuse her chakra enough just to speed up the cells healing, then it would be no different than what she did to any other patient.

Of course, the iffy part remained with actually getting them alive again. _Life force_, she repeated in her head. She still didn't understand the basis of that or even how she could access her own and give it to someone.

"What if it's nothing but a farce?" Sakura asked herself out loud. "What if life force is nothing but a special type of chakra? To transfer one's life..." Sakura tapped her fingers against her desk, narrowing her eyes in sharp thought. She had restored the rats with chakra and brought them back to life, but the truth was, they had only been dead for a little over a day. It was possible that she hadn't been using _life force_ as she so thought. After all, humans had souls, and to her knowledge, animals did not. Or at least, humans had stronger souls that would need something in exchange to bring them back to the physical realm.

There were so many complexities to this jutsu. But if Chiyo could do it and Orochimaru and even Kabuto, Sakura knew she could as well, except her revival jutsu would be the best of them all. Her jutsu wouldn't take her life, or any other life, nor would it render the revived without will or personality. No, she would find a way to make it so that her jutsu would be a successful revival jutsu, one without large repercussions.

That had become her only goal now.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>That's the end of Chapter One! This is an introduction chapter, mostly. I'm setting up the plot :) Sorry if it's kind of boring so far. And yes, if you are wondering, Sakura is a workaholic. She throws herself into her work to sort of forget about Sasuke and the war.<p>

To be fair, by the way, I actually wrote this chapter nearly a year ago. I think I wrote it late October or early November. I do have all the chapters for this story plotted out and I know exactly where I'm heading. At the time of posting this chapter, I have twelve chapters written, so maybe I'll update pretty quickly? It all depends on how long it takes me to edit a chapter, haha.

Oh, and if there is any confusion to jutus or names or people or whatever, you can ask in a reivew, or just search it up on Narutopedia. That's where I got a lot of the jutsu names and whatnot. Quite the wonderful Naruto resource site!

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Sakura finds a dark truth in a dark room that warps all her conceptions of what is right and what is wrong. Everything she had ever known was a lie. Konoha has a dark past and she has just uncovered one of the village's many bloody secrets... She gains a new horror-filled respect for a man she once despised, especially once Sasuke confirms the truth. Yes, Itachi Uchiha was** ordered** to kill his clan._

_**Chapter Two: The Dark Room  
><strong>_

The plot is building...!

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><p>Leave a review to tell me what you think! :D Thanks for reading! <p>

_**-Tri17  
><strong>_


	2. Chapter 2: The Dark Room

Here's the next chapter! Thank you everyone for the awesome response I've gotten so far on this story! I was so surprised with the amount of reviews and alerts and favorites it got already (even one of my favorite authors alerted this story! I nearly cried I was so surprised and happy!) I hope this chapter is well received too! Thank you all for reading and your responses to Chapter One!

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><p>Chapter Two: <em>The Dark Room<em>

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><p>There were some times where Sakura had free time. Between her job at the hospital and researching her revival jutsu, free time was far-and-few between but it did occur occasionally. Usually, she would spend her time training (by herself or with her friends) or reading up on some new jutsus. And if she didn't want to be social or study anymore, she'd go to Tsunade and help her (more like help Shizune) with documents and such that needed organizing and delivered to the Konoha Archive Library.<p>

This was one of those times. Sakura was exhausted from working at the hospital and working on her jutsu; she didn't want to go home after work and do more research- she wanted a break for a little while. She had been having a higher success rate with her jutsu and had even revived a cat, much to her excitement. Her jutsu was going very smoothly and she figured within a month, she would be ready to acquire a body and revive it. Hopefully.

"Ah, Sakura! Perfect timing! Here, take these files to the file room and sort them out for me!" As it always was, Hokage Tower was bustling with excitement and ninjas, so Sakura didn't take too much offense when her mentor ignored greeting her and instead put her to work. She nodded and walked away, heading towards the Konoha Archive Library.

Being Tsunade's pupil and second assistant, as well as Director of the Konoha Hospital, gave Sakura special privileges in the Konoha Archive Library. She could, for instance, go through any person's record, especially if that person was a patient of hers. Of course, there were some stipulations to her power (that had long been ignored by Sakura and Tsunade- in reality, there were _no_ problems with her exploring the entire Archive Library, as long as the Council didn't find out), but she could still explore the majority of the Archive Library.

The Konoha Archive Library was built into the Hokage Monument mountain, which served to protect it from destruction and invasions. Seals and ANBU guarded the Library from people trying to enter the most valuable room in Konoha. Only upper-ranking ninja were even allowed to enter the Archive Library, and even then, the most sensitive documents were placed in another section of the Library.

The Archive Library was divided into two sections; the first section was where all shinobi personnel files were kept. There were records on every ninja from Konoha, former ninjas of Konoha, and any other important ninjas from other villages, or even missing ninjas and criminals. This area made up three floors, with scrolls and files lining the walls and filling the room. Sakura could only assume that Konoha had the largest archive room compared to any other Hidden Village. Information was something the Leaf Village prioritized, though. All ANBU captains could access this room, as well as many upper-ranking jounins, and in general, most ANBU.

The second section of the Konoha Archive Library was where the more sensitive information was stored (and this was technically the section that Sakura shouldn't have access to). This room included many mission results, treaties, other country information, and Konoha history. There was also extensive medical history, psychological tests, and other detailed information on shinobi that was not included in their regular files. This section spanned at least four floors, each one going deeper and deeper down. This section was protected with several seals, genjutsus, and other chakra-recognizing jutsus so that any intruders would not be able to enter, even if they found the entrance to the section.

Sakura started with the files Tsunade had handed her, reading through some and sorting them into the appropriate places. It was a mind-numbing job and she relished in it, as it calmed her down and gave her time to immerse herself in her thoughts- which were usually about her revival jutsu. That was all she ever thought about anymore.

But for once, Sakura eased her mind with the thoughts on her jutsu and focused on thinking on something else- anything else, really. She had realized by thinking so much about her jutsu, she had exhausted herself with it. So Sakura daydreamed, filling her thoughts of simple and juvenile things like beauty, fame, fortune. She daydreamed of being a mother (though interestingly enough, she could picture no husband with her) and rushing off to and fro with her children. She would have three children: Haruka, Hikari, and Haru. Haruka and Hikari, both girls, would be the older sisters of the baby boy, Haru. Haruka wouldn't have pink hair like her mother, maybe black. But she would have inherited Sakura's jade eyes. Then Hikari and Haru would have inherited Sakura's bright pink hair, much to Haru's displeasure. Except they would both have bright blue eyes.

Haruka would become a great ninja with superb chakra control. Except she wouldn't focus on healing but instead fighting and would be trained by Kakashi and Naruto and...

Sakura pursed her lips, pausing on a file. Who would be someone to train her daughter...?

Neji Hyuuga. Haruka would be trained by Neji and become a skilled fighter, especially mastering in closing off chakra paths, despite not having the Byakugan. Then Hikari would become a master genjutsu user, surpassing everyone in the world. Her genjutsus would become legendary, so much so that the Hokage would fear her. And finally, Haru would take after his mother and become a top medical ninja.

Sakura sighed, putting another file away. She wished she could settle down but yet she also knew once she became pregnant, her career would shift downwards. She was a career driven woman and that always came first, Sakura decided, smiling. So her Haruka, Hikari, and Haru children could wait for a few more years. Anyways, she didn't even have a good candidate for a husband! Really, Sakura thought sighing; she was married to her job.

She brushed a strand of hair away from her face and saw that she was almost done with the filing. It wasn't too late out and for once, Sakura didn't really want to return home. She figured she could probably organize more files that Tsunade had stacked in her office for a few more hours before going home. Getting so wrapped up in medical things had started to wear on Sakura's patience and she just wasn't ready to work on anything else that challenged her mind tonight.

Putting away the last file, Sakura trekked back to Tsunade's office, realizing she had been filing things for the past two hours already. It was nearing seven o'clock and things had calmed down considerably. Tsunade was reading a document as Sakura came in, and she glanced up to greet her student.

"I figure I can help you and Shizune out by filing some more things tonight," Sakura explained, after greeting her mentor. Tsunade nodded, pouring herself a cup of sake. "I need a break from the hospital and my house, and I really don't feel like training tonight," Sakura clarified, scooping up a box of files located on one wall. "What else needs filing?" Tsunade pointed to three more boxes chocked full of documents and all sorts of scrolls.

"Would you like a mission?" Tsunade asked her, sitting down her sake cup. Sakura shrugged, stacking another box on her first one. She stood up and tried to balance it.

"Maybe I should make two trips," she mumbled.

"You haven't been out of the village in some time," Tsunade continued, frowning worriedly as one of the boxes teetered to one side. Sakura steadied it and leaned down to stack a third box on. "Sakura, please be careful." Sakura nodded, and placed the box on top, applying a little chakra to balance the boxes. "I can find an easy mission to send you out on to give you a break from the hospital. Sometimes it's nice to get away from the village. Shizune can cover your duties at the hospital, too."

"I'm okay right now, really, Tsunade-sama," Sakura told her, squatting down and placing her three boxes on top of the last box. She applied chakra again to steady the four boxes and stood up. "Anyways, I'll go home for the night after I finish filing these, so I'll see you later, Tsunade-sama."

"Of course, Sakura. Good night." Sakura nodded and stepped carefully outside the room, delicately walking down the stairs of the Hokage Tower and coming into a special transport room that sent her straight to the Archive Library. She was whisked there instantly after applying a bit of her chakra and was met with the ANBU guards outside the Archive Library. They nodded at her and let her pass, and she walked through the filing room and unsealed the other part of the basement, knowing she'd be going back and forth between the two sections.

Sakura took a deep breath; scents of musk and age filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes, relishing in the amount of knowledge and power that was kept within these documents. So many lives were risked and taken all for the sake of these documents. This was why this room was so important- this was what being a ninja was about: collecting information for the good of the village. After that information was collected, the village would decide on the correct courses of action, whether it would be collecting more information, making a treaty, or assassinating and foiling other villages' plans. Everything came about from the information stored and collected in these rooms.

It was such a sharp contrast to the scents of the hospital, which were either two things. One was sterilization- no matter what happened that scent clung to a person. The second scent that occurred depended on the day, but it was usually a mixture of the tangy, iron scent of blood; the hot, sizzling scent of flesh burning from the overuse of medical chakra; and the stuffy, nervous sweat that covered the doctors because they felt so pressured to do the right task and not lose a life.

The scent in here-this library- represented knowledge and hard work. This was the scent Sakura relished in, the same scent that she found in all libraries. It was her favorite scent, more so than even vanilla infused raspberry and strawberry (which was her choice of perfume). This was why Sakura found this room, this work, so relaxing and calming.

So, she smiled, swept her shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail, cracked her knuckles, and got back to work sorting the documents. This scroll goes there; this one has to do with foreign trade with Mist so it goes over there; this document is about the benefits of a treaty with Cloud so it goes in this pile; this one is an update on the status of Sand so it goes there... One by one, each scroll and paper was taken out and sorted into the appropriate pile, surrounding her on the floor.

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><p>Sakura stood up and cracked her back, arching backwards like a cat. She rolled her neck, feeling stiff from not moving in so many hours. Around her were piles upon piles to be further sorted, but she had finally gotten through every box. She picked up one stack and filed it away into the correct folders and other labeled boxes, knowing that she would be here for another few hours. It was a tedious task to sort these. First she sorted them into piles, which she then would pick up and locate the appropriate box or file to place the scroll or document into the correct location. Everything had a specific location and category, whether it would be Uzumaki, Naruto personnel files or Trade Routes with Mist. She could locate anything in here with little trouble.<p>

Sakura was depositing a file but she stopped, frowning. She was at the very back of the lower basement room, depositing something about the Sharingan into Sasuke's file (Tsunade had been regularly checking his Sharingan and making notes) but as Sakura looked through Sasuke's file, she felt like something was... _off. _It was something about the entire Uchiha file.

She wasn't sure why, either. It wasn't like she hadn't been through Sasuke's files before, or the Uchiha Massacre files, or even Itachi's files, but looking at Sasuke's files, she felt like there wasn't enough information. Sakura looked down at the Sharingan paper and that's when she realized what it was.

This wasn't a complete document. Sakura had examined Sasuke's eyes before; she knew what the Sharingan looked like and how it worked. She had, after all, been the one to sever his chakra connections to it. Tsunade was just as experienced as Sakura was, she would have known there was more to the Sharingan than what was told on this paper. It was like it was missing key features of the Sharingan. But that was odd. Why would Tsunade intentionally leave out valuable information from the documents? This room was one of the most, if not _the_ most, secure rooms in the entire village. Even the ANBU captains couldn't access this lower section. Heck, the majority of ninja didn't even know of the existence of this section of the Archive Library.

After all, despite being in the lower levels of the Konoha Archive Library, this section was so securely hidden and sealed that no one could ever hope to enter it. Besides, even the people that could enter this section were extremely few and knew most of the secrets of the village already. Sakura could count the people on her hand because so little were allowed to enter. Tsunade, the Council (Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane), Naruto, Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi, Shizune, and she were the only ninja Sakura knew that had full access to the room and could come and go as they pleased. From what she understood, there were specific reasons why those that could enter were allowed to enter.

Naruto could come in here because he was actually the successor to the Hokage. Kakashi could come in here because he was named the Sixth Hokage, even if it never actually happened to where he really became the Hokage, and besides that, he was part of Naruto's Council. Shikaku Nara had access because he was the Jounin Leader and sort of like the third council member, since Danzo was dead. Shikamaru had access because he was also a part of Naruto's Council. And finally, Shizune and Sakura had access because they were the Hokage's assistants and because they ran the hospital, so they often needed access to shinobi personnel files (at least, that was why Tsunade let them in; technically, neither of them were allowed to enter this lower section).

That's why Sakura didn't understand why part of the Sharingan document was missing. There were less than ten ninja that could access this room- why would they need to hide part of this? That's what seemed off, Sakura realized, frowning. Important things were missing in Sasuke's file: in-depth Sharingan information, extensive information on what he had told Tsunade after she had interrogated him, and just little things that Sakura realized were starting to add up. The same with the Uchiha Massacre. There weren't as many extensive studies done to explain why Itachi did what he did. Any other massacre would have had loads of documents detailing the theories on _why_ a person killed their family. There was barely anything in the folder.

It chilled Sakura to know that there was possibly so much information being withheld from this room. That meant the village was hiding secrets that not even top-ranked ninjas knew about. Which begged the question as to what these secrets were that could be so dangerous that they had to be hidden away somewhere.

Sakura finished sorting through the documents, though she felt much more aware of her surroundings than she had before. It was almost if she was searching for something to slip up and give her a hint to what was being hidden. She knew the village was hiding something (or somethings) but what it (or they) was (were), Sakura wasn't sure.

It only made her want to know so much more.

She finished putting away her last document and checked the clock on the wall, knowing she had been down in the room for hours. She was right- it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. She yawned but decided before going home, she'd check the room to make sure she hadn't left anything misplaced or left an open file anywhere.

It was when she was approaching the back of the room again that she felt that pin-prick feeling that something was off. She looked around, glancing over at the Uchiha files, trying to see if something was hiding there or there was something wrong, but nothing stuck out to her. She walked a little closer, running her fingers of the shelves on the back wall, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.

At least until she touched the back wall. That's when she understood why she had been having the _off _feeling around that area. It wasn't because of the Uchiha files; no, it was because of the wall. Or more specifically, the small little gap between one shelf and another shelf.

There was an enormous amount of genjutsus concentrated on that one area. Sakura was thankful she had trained in identifying genjutsus because without it, she would have never noticed. Her curiosity was piqued and Sakura began concentrating, slowly working through the genjutsus (not actually disabling them, but seeing through them) until she realized that there was a special seal on the wall. She completed the necessary hand signs to let her pass through the seal (as she recognized the seal and identified the chakra patterns in it, thus being able to figure out how to counteract the seal. It was a special skill she picked up as a medical ninja when working on Naruto or other ninjas with seals inside them- she had to know how to work around the seal so she could heal them properly. Chakra patterns and chakra control was her specialty so counteracting seals came easily to her). Sakura's hand slid through the wall and ever so gently, she passed through it.

Sakura found herself in pitch black darkness. The wall turned to normal and Sakura suddenly felt trapped inside the room. There was absolutely no light; she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. Sakura had been in dark areas before but something about being surrounded with nothing but blackness in a room she had never seen before made her heart jump into her throat and fear flood her system. She had never been claustrophobic before but standing in the room, she felt so trapped, which increased her rising panic. If she were trapped, no one would ever find her in here. Sakura took a deep breath and mumbled a light jutsu, thankful for the bright chakra flooding the room. Now she saw scrolls everywhere, thick layers of dust covering them. Sakura bumped into a wall, shifting some of the dust around, making her cough.

She took a few steps in and turned around, amazed at the scrolls that lined the walls in the small room. Softly, as if this would all disappear or she would be caught, Sakura reached out and grabbed a scroll. It was something about Orochimaru and the various experiments he performed on his subjects. Sakura felt a chill run through her as she read the descriptive explanations on what had happened to his subjects. With rising horror, she realized it was Orochimaru's actual notebook that he must have left behind in Konoha.

Sakura quickly dropped the scroll back to its proper position, her hands trembling. This room truly was the room that held all the village's secrets. Some, Sakura was sure, she probably didn't want to know. She held her light out in front of her and walked around the room, reading various titles on scrolls. A lot were about Orochimaru and the Sannin, which Sakura ignored. Others were about previous Hokages and secrets on the village and the founding of it. Sakura ignored those as well.

Some scrolls did catch her eye, though. One of which was labeled _Uzumaki, Kushina: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki II_. That one, Sakura picked up to read. She was a female ninja from the Land of Whirlpools who became the second Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, after an Uzumaki Mito. Slowly, Sakura realized the Kushina, who was married to the Fourth Hokage, was Naruto's mother. After she finished reading the scroll, Sakura found two others labeled _Uzumaki, Mito: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki_ and _Uzumaki, Naruto: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki III. _There were more scrolls that detailed Naruto's seal and explained the Kyuubi inside, but Sakura only skimmed those.

The other scrolls that caught her eye were the scrolls about the Uchiha Clan. Sakura looked through a scroll labeled _Sharingan_ and realized that the reason why Tsunade hid some of the Sharingan documents was because she didn't want anyone to access some of the more complex forms of the Sharingan, like the Mangekyo Sharingan, or Sasuke's new Eternal Mangekyo form, and read the secrets about it. Sakura put down the Sharingan scroll and picked up another scroll about Sasuke and explanations of his Cursed Seal and things of that nature. Then her eyes found another scroll that made her stop and her heart freeze, jumping to her throat.

_The Assassination of the Uchiha Clan- S-rank_

Her fingers trembled as she touched it and suddenly, she knew something was very wrong with whatever she had believed before. She had the feeling that there was some horrendous secret contained in the scroll that would shatter all her previous thoughts of the Massacre. After all, that scroll was a _mission_ scroll that the Hokage distributed.

Sakura unrolled the document, feeling her hands tremble as she read. By the time she was finished reading, she could barely keep the scroll from slipping out of her hands because of how hard she was shaking.

_To Itachi Uchiha:_

_As the information of the Uchiha Clan's rebellion has been processed, and peaceful negotiations have been attempted with the Uchiha Clan Head, Fugaku Uchiha, but have failed, we, the Council of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, have deemed that there is no time left to reconcile with the Uchiha Clan. According to Shinobi Rule Number Two: Shinobi who gather and plot any type of ploy that could possibly harm the village, civilians, or fellow comrades are committing treason, and are considered traitors. And according to Shinobi Rule Number Seven: Traitors to the village are punished by death; therefore, holding the Shinobi Rules to law, we have deemed it necessary for the assassination of the entire Uchiha Clan, in light of their plot to overthrow the village. _

_The entire Uchiha Clan must be exterminated and wiped out from existence; we will reveal the reasons for this to the village so that you may be cleared of all treasonous charges. The Uchiha Clan will become an example to all who may try to plot against Konoha. All men, women, and children must be eliminated. Failure to complete this mission by the ninth of December will result in revocation of shinobi status and possible death. Failure to kill all Uchiha members will result in revocation of shinobi status. Failure to keep this information secret will result in death. _

_-Konoha Council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane; Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi._

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat and everything after that blurred. Itachi was ordered to kill his own clan. The Third Hokage _signed_ the document; he _ordered _Itachi to _kill_ his own family!

Sakura was about to roll up the document, when she saw an added note at the bottom. She glanced down, reading on. It was the result of the mission.

_While, overall, the mission was successful, Itachi Uchiha failed in killing _all_ Uchiha Clan members, sparing his little brother's life- Sasuke Uchiha. The Third Hokage has agreed to keep Sasuke alive and protected, while Itachi has threatened the Council to stay away from his brother. Furthermore, Itachi has threatened to spread the secrets of Konoha to other villages if the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre is revealed. In exchange for his ineptitudes to complete his mission in full, he has agreed to leave the village as a traitor and allow the S-rank Criminal title to be placed on him. He understands that all Konoha shinobi will be ordered to kill him on sight, and he will be place in all Bingo books. Itachi Uchiha has left the village as a traitor, thus severing all ties to the village. _

Sakura dropped the scroll, her stomach churning. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. She didn't want to be in this room any more. The secrets in here- there was a reason they were secrets from the rest of the village. Sakura placed the scroll back where it belonged and exited the room, rechecking the genjutsus and strengthening them, making sure everything was the way she found it.

She left the archive rooms quickly, her eyes burning, her stomach twisting, and chills raking her body. It was nearing two o'clock in the morning and Sakura walked down the, almost ghostly, village. She wanted nothing more than to be home and to put everything behind her, even though she knew she never would. That room was only for the Hokage's and the Council's eyes. Not for her eyes; never for her eyes.

Sakura stopped suddenly and dashed to a bush, retching and vomiting. Her body shook with chills and her head spun. She wanted to cry and scream and forget everything. But most of all, she wanted to find Itachi and apologize and bring him back to the village and declare that he was a hero. He had done nothing wrong, nothing...

Sakura vomited again. She sat back on her haunches, coughing and panting. She closed her eyes, rocking back and forth. Her trembling became worse and she was sure she was going to faint, her head spun so hard.

Itachi hadn't done anything wrong and yet he was hated so fiercely. Sasuke had hated him so fiercely and yet Itachi had saved his life. _Itachi was a good guy_.

Sakura plunged her head back to the bush, vomiting again, even though nothing came up but bile and stomach acid.

"Whoa, Haruno." Someone squatted down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" Sakura turned around seeing Genma. She figured he was probably on guard duty, patrolling the village, and had just happened to spot her.

_He probably hates Itachi, too. _

Sakura promptly turned back away from him and retched again, gagging and coughing. As she finished, the trembles overtook her body and she felt like she was convulsing, she shook so hard.

"Hey, hey, Sakura!" Genma grabbed her, embracing her close to his chest, trying to calm her trembles. Finally the tears spilled from Sakura's eyes and she turned to Genma, not caring so much who was with her, but just thankful not to be alone. Her trembles subsided and she wiped her eyes. "You okay?" Sakura nodded, breaking out of his hold. Genma stood up, frowning. He offered her his hand and Sakura gratefully took it as she stood, her head still spinning.

_Itachi was just doing his job. He was forced to kill them._

"Thank you, Genma," she told him, closing her eyes. She didn't want to look at him or think about anything. "I need to go home now," she whispered, her throat raw from the vomit.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Sakura shook her head.

"I'll be fine. Thank you very much for everything you've done. Please excuse me." Sakura walked away shivering but guarding her thoughts from Itachi and the Uchiha Massacre, though one managed to stay on her mind, no matter how hard she tried to get it away.

_Itachi was innocent of everything. He doesn't deserve the hate._

_He was just doing his job._

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><p>"Sakura-chan!" Sakura didn't want to open the door. She rolled over in her bed, staring blankly at the wall. She wasn't sure if she had slept last night. She could only remember once she got home how she had to vomit again, how the sobs started and wouldn't stop for hours, and how her thoughts continued in a vicious loop about Itachi and Sasuke and the Uchiha Massacre.<p>

She knew she was late for work. That was why Naruto was there, she was sure. The nurses had reported to Tsunade that Sakura hadn't shown up for work, so Tsunade had called for Naruto to come and find her. But Sakura wasn't going to move an inch from her bed. No, she was going to lay there and feel numb and sick and exhausted.

"Sakura-chan!" This time, the voice came from her window. "I'm coming in!" Naruto slid open her window, hopping into her bedroom. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Genma told me about you being sick last night. Why the heck were you out at two o'clock in the morning?" Sakura remained quiet, closing her eyes. She felt so sick.

_Does Naruto know about Itachi? Does he understand how unfair it was for Itachi? _

Her stomach lurched and Sakura shivered. Naruto noticed and sat down on her bed, frowning. "Hey, is it a bug? Tsunade-baa-chan wanted me to tell you not to come into work today, though she wants to know if you were sorting things until two." Sakura nodded, feeling tears well up behind her eyes.

_Itachi was hated by the one man he gave everything up for. He was killed by the boy he saved. _

Sakura flew upwards, leaning over the side of her bed, and throwing up into the trash-can beside her bed. Naruto reacted quickly, pulling her hair back and steadying her.

"Whoa! Sakura!"

_Itachi was innocent. _

_He gave everything up for his village._

_His home, his honor, his reputation, his family, his conscience, his future, his life. _

_He gave up everything._

_Everything._

_EVERYTHING._

Sakura vomited harder, the tears breaking through finally. She took a gasping breath and slid back into bed. Sweat covered her forehead and her hair plastered to her face. She panted, choking and coughing.

"Sakura-chan, maybe you should see a doctor?"

"I am a doctor," Sakura snapped, finally speaking. She pulled her comforter over her head. "I know what's wrong with me," she told Naruto. He waited but she said nothing further.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked.

"I'm just sick," Sakura lied. "So please, can you leave so I can go back to sleep?" Naruto hesitated but finally agreed.

"Yeah. Get better, Sakura-chan." He could see her nod through the covers. Naruto patted the covered lump and exited through her window, leaving Sakura back to her swirling, nauseating thoughts.

* * *

><p><em>He was just an innocent, little boy. <em>

_Only thirteen years old. Only thirteen and he was ordered to kill his mother, his father, his friends, everyone he had ever known... _

_So innocent._

_Just a boy._

_He was hated._

_He was called a criminal._

_He was hunted by his own village; the same village that had ordered him and forced him to kill his clan._

_His own brother, the one he gave up everything for, hated him._

_The little brother he had betrayed his mission and the village for, killed him. _

_He was only a thirteen year-old boy. _

_Just a boy..._

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up, still feeling exhausted. It was late into the afternoon; she had slept for most of the day. Sakura sat up, rubbing her eyes. They felt swollen and puffy and her muscles, especially her abdominal muscles, ached. Her throat was rough and scratchy and felt raw. Sakura swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up slowly. She shuffled over to her bathroom, stripping down, and got in the shower, turning her spray on full blast and high heat.<p>

Sakura slid down the tiled wall in her shower, resting against the back of the tub. She wrapped her arms around her knees, bringing her knees to her chest. The water pelted her head and she stayed there, just resting.

It was hard to wrap her head around the entire concept of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but deep down, she believed it. She knew Itachi wasn't a bad guy, which made his situation so much worse. He died a horrible way and he didn't even deserve it. If there was one great ninja, it was Itachi.

She needed the truth about everything. And there was one man that would tell her the absolute truth about Itachi and the Uchiha Clan- Sasuke. Sasuke had to know the true truth by now, Sakura was sure of it. It would explain his hate for Konoha and why he had teamed up with Madara Uchiha.

"I need to see him," Sakura declared, standing up. She finished washing herself and got out and dressed, deciding she was finally going to pay Sasuke a visit again, after eight months.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here?" Sakura expected that. She couldn't really blame him, either. After all, she did randomly show up on a day of no importance.<p>

"I need to talk to you. I want some answers," she answered truthfully. "I want to know about your brother."

"What about him?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "He's dead; he hardly matters anymore. I killed him." Sakura nodded patiently. Sasuke said nothing more to her and turned around, sitting on the edge of his cot. After having lived in the prison for five years, he was slowly given a few more accommodations than he originally had. Like, he now had a softer bed and two covers and a pillow. He also had a better quality toilet and sink on one side of the small cell. The bindings around his hands had been loosened to give him a little more movement, but he still had the chakra seals all over his body and his Sharingan was still disabled.

"He... Why? Why did he do it?" Sakura whispered, looking down. Sasuke shrugged, not saying anything. "Sasuke, please." The tone of her voice made him look back up at her. They were completely alone; Sakura had sent the guards away, saying she wanted to talk to him privately- the guards didn't question their superior and had left them, standing outside the hallway door of Sasuke's cell (Sasuke had a steel door on his cell but he was isolated in a small hallway with two steel doors on either side that were covered with sealing jutsu and ANBU posted outside of each door).

"He told me for power," Sasuke replied finally, looking away. "That's what he told me." Sakura shook her head, her hands resting against the door of his cell. Sakura laid her cheek against the steel door.

"Be honest. The truth, Sasuke. I need the truth." When she glanced back up at him, she was sure Sasuke recognized the desperate look in her eyes. "_Why_ did he do it? Why did he accept the mission?" Sasuke's hands clenched and he glared at the wall above Sakura's hair.

"How do you know?" he hissed, momentarily dropping his guard. His black eyes were piercing and filled with such hate, but not at Itachi, Sakura realized. She took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter. I found it out on accident," she answered. "I don't know who knows the real truth, besides the Council and probably Tsunade. Naruto probably knows, too." Sasuke remained silent, turning away from her. Sakura clenched her fist and hit the door softly, getting his attention. "Please, Sasuke. He's dead. I just want to know to ease my mind... to remember him in the way he deserves to be remembered." Her hand uncurled and her fingertips brushed against the door. The silence that lasted was tense and heavy. Sakura wasn't sure how long she stood there, listening to her heart beat and Sasuke's breathing.

"He didn't want to go to war," Sasuke finally answered. "I don't know why he did everything he did. I'll never know. I just wish..." He shuddered, looking down. "He's a much different man than anyone ever thought, Sakura. He didn't deserve the end he got." Sakura closed her eyes, swallowing hard. There was a lump in her throat and she felt like she would cry at any second. She knew Itachi wasn't going to have had a nice ending.

"How... What happened? At the end? How did it end?" She knew Sasuke had never spoken about his brother's death. He had only told them he had killed Itachi and no matter how hard Tsunade, Ibiki, Kakashi, and Naruto probed, he would never say anything else other than the fact that he had killed his brother. They hadn't asked him again and he had been here for five years. Sakura had never asked what had happened, so she was hoping he would tell her. "Five years, Sasuke," she whispered, barely audible. "Let him get the proper remembrance he deserves."

"I don't know," Sasuke answered her previous questions, finally speaking with a raw sounding voice, rather than the typical hollow sound she was so used to. "He was going to win. He was so close to winning. Then he stopped, coughed up blood, and came closer. He poked my forehead and it was over." The silence after the story was over became deafening to Sakura. Her hands trembled.

"Just like that..." Sakura whispered. She shook her head. The nauseous feeling returned but she pushed it away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She was sorry for Itachi dying the way he did, for it all to end like that, but mostly for all the pain they both had endured. "Where is he now?"

"I buried him back where he died; where we fought- the old, abandoned Uchiha Stronghold. It was only fitting to bury him there. Only right..." Sasuke turned away from her. He had finally told someone the truth of his brother's death; the true story, and it happened to be to the girl that had hated him ever since he had returned. It had only taken five years of prison and her desperate pleading to convince him. Sakura closed her eyes and turned away herself, knowing that Sasuke was done with talking.

"Thank you, Sasuke. I had to know the truth." With that, she left him, her head pounding, her stomach churning, and a hollow feeling inside, knowing how much Itachi had to have suffered.

_He was innocent._

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

* * *

><p>To clarify a few things in this chapter (I hope I can remember everything, haha):<p>

1. The dark room/room of ultimate secrets- I don't think something like this would ever exist in the village (but maybe it does? I mean, where else would they keep crucial information? Hmmmmm...) but for the sake of the plot, Sakura had to find out the truth about Itachi, without Naruto knowing that she knows. It doesn't make much sense now as to why that's important, but it will later on! As for who knows of the existence of the room? Probably just Tsunade and the Council. Naruto won't know until he's actually Hokage.

2. The contents of the mission scroll for the Massacre- Itachi being an agent to Akatsuki wasn't mentioned in the scroll; I don't think he would have told something like that to the Council, who could have read the scroll. So Itachi's double-agent status in Akatsuki was probably only known to the Third Hokage. At least, that's what I figured. Sakura doesn't know about his double-agent status to Akatsuki, though.

3. Sakura vomiting- I don't know if it's common to vomit after being distressed or emotionally upset, but I do it. Whenever I'm really upset or nervous, I tend to get really nauseous and vomit (gross, right?) So if you're confused as to why she's vomiting, it's because she's so emotionally distraught.

4. Itachi's burial place- from my knowledge, after Itachi died, his body was not shown again. It is true that Madara had to take Itachi's body for Sasuke's transplant to occur; and Kabuto did have some sort of DNA from Itachi to revive him, but where Itachi's physical body is isn't shown in the manga. That's why I have Sasuke burying him back at the Uchiha Stronghold. And to clarify timeline issues, Sasuke wouldn't have buried him until after Madara's death, or at least after these current chapters in the manga. I think Sasuke is a bit too insane right now to even think about giving his brother a proper burial place, so it would have to be after he calmed down, haha.

5. Finally, that little italicized blurb right before Sakura visits Sasuke- that would be a mixture of Sakura's dreams and thoughts. Even when she's unconscious, she dreams of how unfair Itachi's treatment. All the italicized interjections, besides something that is obviously writing, will always be Sakura's thoughts, I'd say. So all the sentences about Itachi being just a boy and how unfair it was for him were Sakura's thoughts. I hope that was clear.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_For a break from the village, Sakura is sent on a mission to the Sand Village_. _Everything is fun and relaxing for the overworked kunoichi, and she is finally able to ease her thoughts on the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. That is, until she finds the burial place of the man who haunts her thoughts. A grave, a body, a revival jutsu... she has all the pieces in her hands, but she has to decide what to do with them._

**_Chapter Three: Solo_**

The plot continues...!

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><p>Thank you again for all the reviews and alerts and favorites! You all have made my week :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Solo

Thank you so much for the awesome response I've gotten for this story! Every review makes me want to cry because I'm so happy. I was actually going to delay this chapter because I've been pretty sick this week (I've had strep throat since like Tuesday, but didn't know until Thursday night .) so I hadn't been editing this chapter at all. But, I got this super nice review and I couldn't help but update as soon as I could.

This chapter is my least favorite in the entire story. I really don't care for this chapter, at all. It almost feels filler-ish to me. But bare with me as I continue to update. I promise the story will pick up soon. Thank you for reading! I love every one of you for reading! :D

Oh, and for clarification, Matsuri is actually a character introduced in the last arc of the Naruto fillers, right before Shippuden started (I actually watched that arc and sort of liked Matsuri; that's why she's in here lol). She is also in the manga in Part II, as one of Gaara's faithful fangirls. It is pretty canon that she likes him. So there are some MatsurixGaara hints. Well, onesided MatsurixGaara, at least. If you're not too sure about Matsuri, go ahead and look her up on Narutopedia. That site does a good job of explaining her character. :D

* * *

><p>Chapter Three:<em> Solo<em>

* * *

><p>Since that day, red eyes flooded her dreams. She dreamt of those piercing Sharingan eyes staring at her, his cool voice asking her<em>, "What would you do?" <em>and her answer that would never come. She didn't know what she would have done. All she can ask back is, _"Why?" _Those eyes will stare at her, stare through her, chilling her to the bone. He'll respond with, _"Because I had no choice. I had to save him." _And she would cry, reaching towards him, watching as he faded away. _"You're just a child!" _she would scream after him, her voice echoing through the hollow emptiness of the black world.

* * *

><p>"I think I'll call you Heiwa." Sakura smiled and patted the dog on the head. It had been an overwhelming success. She had found the dog in the road, obviously dead. Sakura had rushed out and retrieved it, bringing it back to her lab. She couldn't heal him, so she decided it was the perfect chance to try out her revival jutsu. It was a success.<p>

She accomplished it within a few hours and with less chakra than she thought she'd have to use. The dog was revived with no problems.

"You're going to be my good luck charm, Heiwa." Sakura squatted down to the brown dog, smiling as it licked her affectionately. It had a white spot on its cheek, short pointy ears, and a long floppy tail. It wasn't a large dog like Akamaru, but regular sized. "I'm going to have to get you some dog food. I hope you can be house-trained quickly!" Sakura smiled, scratching its head.

"Well, let's work together on these things, okay? Let's do our best!" Heiwa let out an excited bark to agree with her.

* * *

><p>When she revived Heiwa, Sakura knew she was ready to actually revive someone. She wasn't sure who, and she knew that to actually find someone was going to be hard. She truly didn't want to dig up graves in Konoha or steal bodies from the morgue. It wasn't honorable and if there was a chance that her jutsu would destroy the body, she didn't want to do it to a ninja that had fallen in combat.<p>

Sakura sighed, drawing circles with her pen on a blank paper on her desk. She was at the hospital and experiencing a momentary lull in the day. Her nurses were taking care of everything and there weren't any emergencies. Her paperwork was filed and completed, so there was nothing else to do. It was an odd occurrence, and Sakura wasn't sure how to react to the lack of adrenaline in her body. So doodling circles seemed to be the best endeavor to accomplish.

"Sakura-sama," someone knocked on her door; a nurse, Sakura assumed, "Kotetsu-san is here to speak with you." That meant that Tsunade was sending her a message. She nearly stood in excitement of something _finally _happening in her day.

"Send him in," Sakura replied, capping her pen and folding up her paper, trying to appear calm, even though she was genuinely excited for the break in the monotonous day. Kotetsu walked in, looking around Sakura's office curiously. "What's up, Kotetsu-san?" Sakura asked pleasantly, gesturing for him to sit. Kotetsu shook his head, opting to hand her a note.

"Tsunade-sama wants you in her office around one o'clock this afternoon. She has a mission for you." Sakura nodded, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She nibbled on her lower lip, realizing it had been a long time since she had been on a mission. It had been a long time since she had seen the outside of the village. A mission would prove to be a good distraction and give her a breath of fresh air.

"Thank you, Kotetsu-san. Oh, by the way..." Sakura's voice changed and a small smirk tugged on her lips. "I've been reviewing some of the ninja who haven't had recent check-ups, and you, Kotetsu-san, are one of them. Please do remember to come and schedule an appointment before I have to send someone to hunt you down. It'll be so much better for you if you come to me and schedule an appointment that way. After all, until you have a check-up, you cannot go on any missions. Do remember that," she told him smiling. Her voice was light and airy but it held a warning in it that Kotetsu picked up right away.

"Of course. Can I schedule it on the way out?" he asked nervously. Sakura's smile turned genuine and eased his nerves slightly.

"Yes, yes, please do. Go on to the service desk and the nurse will be more than happy to schedule an appointment. If you have any nurse preferences, just be sure to ask."

"Even you?" he asked, not necessarily wanting Sakura to be his nurse; more out of honest curiosity. Sakura shook her head.

"You can ask to get me, however it's not recommended. I'm often called out on patients and have to reschedule or have a nurse finish up the exam. And my schedule is kind of hectic so it's hard to schedule an appointment with me, and even then, it's often that I'll have to send a nurse in my place because I can't make the appointment." Kotetsu nodded.

"You're pretty busy after all," he commented, scratching his head.

"Yeah," Sakura mumbled, looking up at the clock. It was only eleven in the morning. She still had two hours before she needed to meet with Tsunade. "All right, Kotetsu-san, remember to schedule that appointment before you leave and I'll see you soon." He took her cue to leave and nodded, bowing his head in farewell.

"Of course. Good day, Sakura-san." Kotetsu exited her office and Sakura turned to her planner, penning in the meeting with Tsunade. She cracked her knuckles and stretched, deciding she should gather up a list of ninjas who needed medical appointments. That would probably take up her time until her meeting with Tsunade. Maybe she'd call it a day at the hospital after her meeting with Tsunade. It was a slow day, after all. And Sakura absolutely hated to be unproductive.

"Time to get to work!"

* * *

><p>"Oh, Sakura, there you are." Tsunade barely looked up from one of her scrolls as Sakura walked into her office. Sakura gently closed the door behind her, smoothing down her short medical skirt. That was one thing she didn't like about her medical uniform- the length of the skirt. It only went down to the middle of her thighs and could easily ride up at the slightest movement. Luckily, her medical coat went down to her knees, so since she usually wore that, no one could even see her skirt. Whoever had designed the medical staffing outfits was likely a male, Sakura figured. Maybe a fan of Jiraiya's Icha Icha series, at that.<p>

Sakura waited a few moments for Tsunade to finish her scroll and gather her thoughts. Sakura was patient with her mentor, opting to look around the room, instead of hounding the Hokage to know what she wanted, much like Naruto would typically do. It was right when Sakura was going to browse through a few scrolls on the floor that Tsunade decided to speak.

"All right," Tsunade began, grabbing a paper from a stack. "Sakura, your mission is relatively simple but rather important." Tsunade sighed, grabbing another piece of paper. "Gaara, the Kazekage, has reported some type of illness, though it doesn't seem relatively fatal. I'm assuming he's suffering from a mixture of stress and possible insomnia but I can't be sure."

"Why do they want me to check it out? Doesn't Suna have their own medical ninja?"

"Of course they do, however they cannot very well cure him. It's gotten to the point where he is bedridden and unable to do his work, so he's asked for you to come and check him out. It shouldn't be anything too difficult, though you must heal him correctly."

"Of course. He isn't allowed to die." Tsunade nodded.

"So heal him up and stay in Suna for a week or two to make sure he's okay. If you need more time, take some. Go ahead and take a bit of a break- use this as a vacation because I think you really need it, Sakura." Sakura smiled and nodded, fingering a strand of her hair.

"Will Shizune cover my duties at the hospital?"

"Of course."

"When should I leave?"

"Today, if possible. I've heard the hospital was slow today, so go ahead and go on home and pack up your things. Get everything arranged that needs to be and try to depart tonight for Sand." Sakura nodded. "Oh, just because this does involve the Kazekage, we are saying this is an A-rank mission, so you will be paid as such. Granted, it isn't really A-rank in difficulty, at least for you." Sakura grinned at that. "The payment will be given to you after the mission is complete. Take your time coming home, though I do expect you back in less than a month, assuming there isn't complications. Have fun and enjoy your time in Suna!"

"Yes ma'am!" Sakura grinned and left the room, feeling excited about her mission to Suna. It truly had been a long time since her last mission and she was excited to see the lands outside of her village again. And she did enjoy Suna. Besides, Gaara and the Sand Siblings were kind to her, especially since she had saved Kankuro's life and killed Sasori, as well as helped in rescuing Gaara. Ever since that day, she had earned their respect, trust, and friendship. Plus it felt good that the Kazekage had specifically sought her out to come and heal him. It made her feel like her abilities had been recognized.

Sakura practically skipped home, Heiwa greeting her happily at her door. Sakura petted her dog, though she realized if she was gone for an entire month, her dog would starve. "That's why it isn't practical for ninjas to own pets," Sakura murmured to him. Her rats would also starve, which wasn't a good thing since she had been monitoring them to see the effects of her jutsu. She still needed to monitor them. "Hmm... Well, I suppose Hinata might be willing to feed all of my pets. I can ask her." Heiwa barked, as if agreeing with her.

"All right, now, Suna climate... Hmm..." Sakura walked up to her closet, rifling through the different clothes. Heiwa patted behind her, finally jumping onto her bed and laying there. His tail thumped against the bed like a metronome: thump, thump, thump, thump. Sakura glanced back at her new companion and shook her head, smiling, as Heiwa slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Hmm... maybe the white shirt." Sakura pulled out a white tank-top, wondering if it was appropriate to wear something like that in front of the Kazekage. "Maybe it would be more appropriate to wear my official Konoha medical uniform." Sakura tossed the white tank-top onto her bed and pulled out her medical uniform. It wasn't the typical medic uniform since Sakura was so high-ranking. Her uniform was a dress, though, white with the Konoha medical corps symbol on the right breast. It was cream colored and the skirt went down to her knees while her sleeves only came to the middle of her upper arm. It was simple and rather plain, but decent enough for the Kazekage. The outfit was usually only worn on missions or on diplomatic meetings; she never wore it in Konoha at the hospital.

Sakura grabbed a few more tank-tops and a few mesh-tops, throwing them all onto her bed. She went to her dresser, pulling out various shorts and skirts and throwing those on her bed as well. Her jounin flak jacket was the next thing to go on her bed and then she tossed her black gloves along with it. Deciding she had a fair enough wardrobe, Sakura assembled her medic pack, placing various scrolls, bandages, and healing ointments inside. Finally, she assembled a small amount of weapons (less than the regular ninja carried) instead using the majority of her weapon pack to place various vials of poison in. Sakura was much more efficient with her poisons rather than killing someone with a kunai. It was much easier to take a senbon needle, dip it in her special poisons, and get close enough to a person to barely prick them with the senbon. They would die nearly instantly and it was less of a mess than slitting someone's throat, which got blood everywhere.

"Okay, Heiwa, I think that I've got everything," Sakura told her dog, scanning over her pack. "Now, I'm going to go talk to Hinata. You be a good doggie when I'm gone, all right?" Sakura kneeled down, scratching Heiwa behind the ears. Her dog licked her face, making Sakura laugh. "I'll miss you, too, Heiwa." She gave it a final scratch and picked up her pack, swinging it over onto her shoulder.

"Time to talk to Hinata and go on to Suna!" Sakura grinned and exited her house, taking a deep breath of the village air, knowing she wouldn't smell the same things for quite a while.

* * *

><p>Sakura hadn't realized how great it would feel to be jumping through trees and feeling the wind in her hair. It truly had been so long since she had left the village. No wonder she had become so obsessed with her revival jutsu- staying in the village had to have had some adverse effects on her mentality.<p>

She was just glad Hinata was willing to feed her animals. The girl really was an amazing person. Sakura would have no fear for her pets and could easily enjoy herself in Suna; a well-deserved vacation.

Besides, maybe being out of the village would ease her mind on the elder Uchiha and the Massacre. She felt mentally exhausted and possibly by being away from the village, her nightmares would stop. It was her hope that they would, at least. Sakura was quite tired of seeing dead Uchiha's in her dreams every night. She was going to go insane if it continued.

She jumped out of a tree onto the forest ground. Sakura took a deep breath of air and looked up towards the sky. It took three days to get to Suna and she had only traveled half a day. It was late night now and Sakura was feeling sort of tired. She stretched her muscles and decided to settle down to eat and sleep for the night.

"No sense in wasting my energy before I get there!" That brought a smile to her face and she knew that this journey wasn't going to be hard at all. It was nice traveling at her own pace and not having to keep up with super, hyper-energy Naruto traveling. There was a considerable difference in their stamina level that Naruto never did seem to understand.

"Three days," she whispered and smiled. No, the mission wouldn't be bad at all.

* * *

><p>The thing about the Hidden Village in the Sand was that it was sandy. And windy. Sakura sighed, gritting her teeth as the wind blew sand into her face, lashing against her skin. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body, thankful that she remembered to bring it. It wasn't heavy, so she wasn't too hot underneath it, and it did keep the sand out of her clothes and most of her hair and face.<p>

"Passport," the guard tonelessly requested at the front gate. Sakura withdrew her scroll, showing it to the man. He looked down and slowly, he became more serious. He straightened up and cleared his throat. "Sakura-sama, please, give me just a moment and I'll have someone escort you to the Kazekage. We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival." Sakura gave a smile, though it was half-hearted. She was hoping she would get to rest and wash up before meeting with Gaara. It wouldn't necessarily look good on her village if she arrived covered in sand, sweat, and grime from a three day's journey. Besides, she was tired and was hoping to rest and eat before she had to heal and check-up on Gaara.

It took a few minutes for another ninja to be called over to escort her. However, the ninja who greeted her was a vaguely familiar face, though Sakura couldn't remember her name (if she even knew it) if her life depended on it.

"Ah, Sakura-sama! Please come this way." Sakura followed without saying anything. As she passed into the village, the wind lessened, much to Sakura's relief. "I'm Matsuri; I'm the Kazekage's personal assistant," she told Sakura. The name Matsuri did sound familiar so they probably had met at one point but Sakura truly couldn't recall anything. Maybe it was when Chiyo-baa-sama had died or maybe it was before that. It had been too many years, though, and Sakura didn't even bother trying to remember. "I'll be your guide for the time you're in Suna." She was cheerful enough so Sakura finally smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Matsuri-san." Matsuri returned Sakura's worn smile with a brighter one than she had previously given her.

"We do have to check in with Temari-sama before you can rest. Gaara-sama wasn't doing too badly today, so you should be able to rest before you have to heal him." Sakura almost slumped in relief but she kept her back straight and nodded.

"That would be most appreciated," she did tell Matsuri. "I think I can heal him better with some rest." Matsuri nodded sympathetically.

It didn't take long to make it to the Kazekage Tower, where Temari greeted them. She smiled brightly when she saw Sakura, nodding a greeting to the pink-haired medic.

"Thank you so much for coming, Sakura-san." Sakura nodded. "Gaara is doing okay for now, so if you need to rest, please do so. I'll have food sent up to your room, which you'll be staying in the building next to the hospital." Sakura nodded. "Is there anything you may need that I can arrange for you? Food preferences, clothing, medical items?"

"Is there a bath in my room?" Temari nodded. "Oh, okay. I won't be able to tell you for sure what I'll need until I examine Gaara, which I'd rather do after I get cleaned up." Temari nodded.

"Of course. Do you think you can examine him tonight?"

"Sure. Just give me a few hours and I'll be ready to see him."

"Thank you so much, Sakura-san. We don't understand what is wrong with him; he's never been this sick before. None of our healers can figure out what is wrong with him. We hope you can." Sakura grinned, her eyes sparkling at the thought of a new challenge.

"I will, Temari-san. I won't let you down."

* * *

><p>With a long, hot shower, hot food, and a two-hour nap, Sakura was raring to go. She changed into her medical uniform, pulling her hair back into bun. She was in the process of checking over her medical supplies when Matsuri knocked on her door.<p>

"Come in!" Sakura called. Matsuri walked in, smiling brightly.

"Are you ready?" she asked, tilting her head softly. Sakura nodded, snapping her medical pack around her waist and grabbing her notebook. Matsuri led her out, taking her to the hospital. It took a few minutes to make it to Gaara's room, which was on the top floor surrounded by several of his ninja. Temari was inside the room waiting for her. A few medics were also in the room.

"Sakura-san!" Temari grinned upon seeing her. Gaara cracked an eye open, giving a pained half-smile. Sakura smiled back at him, sweeping into a bow. "These men are here to assist you in any way necessary. All the previous notes and examinations and tests are in that folder. If you need anything else, Matsuri will be staying here. I've got to run back to the Tower before Kankuro destroys something, so if you need me, just send Matsuri."

"All right. Thank you, Temari-san." She shook her head.

"No, thank you." Sakura took a deep breath after Temari left, concentrating.

"Okay, Kazekage-sama, I'm going to use my chakra to examine you and see if I can find anything." Sakura placed her hands over Gaara's torso, closing her eyes as she let her chakra flow through him. He watched her carefully, curious as to what she would do. It took about thirty-minutes before she finally withdrew her hands. Sakura opened her notebook and scribbled down several notes, filling up two pages. She picked up the folder the other medics had compiled and read through it, a frown tugging at her lips.

She wrote down more notes after reading the medical file and placed her hands back on him. "You're going to feel my chakra more than before. It won't be painful but it will feel warm and somewhat awkward. Don't try to fight it with your chakra." Her hands were placed harder on his chest and he could easily feel her chakra flowing in him. It felt like a large stream of water coursing through his veins and chakra system- it wasn't painful, just uncomfortable.

Sakura stopped that after ten minutes and wrote down more notes, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "All right, now I'm going to look through your mind. I can't read your thoughts, I'm merely checking your chakra pathways and your brain functions. I need to make sure nothing is blocked or sending odd signals." Gaara nodded and Sakura placed a hand on each of his temples. She sent her chakra in, probing around his mind. After a long twenty-minutes, she finally stopped, turning around to write down another page of notes.

"Okay, Gaara-sama, you have quite a few things wrong with you. You're not getting enough sleep so your immune system is weak. You've contracted pneumonia, but nothing too serious. However, the reason why your body isn't responding to any healing techniques or remedies is because you've also got quite a bit of poison within your system. I'm not sure where it came from, though I will find out what it is made of once I remove a sample from your body. However, from what I can tell, it is blocking all healing agents and items to help your immune system, thus meaning you're stuck in a continuous pneumonia that will increasingly get worse. Once I remove all the poison and make an antidote, I can give you some remedies to ease the pneumonia. I can also make a sleep remedy for you to rest better." Gaara smiled more genuinely, nodding.

"All right, so now I'm going to remove some of the poison. My chakra will feel like it's tugging at you but, again, don't fight it. It shouldn't hurt, but be warned that this will take a while because I'm going to remove a large sample." Sakura placed her hands on his chest, but frowned, shaking her head. "I'm going to need you to remove your shirt, or at least unbutton it. I'm sorry, but I need to make an incision on your chest." Gaara reached up and unbuttoned his robes and removed his mesh top. Sakura heard Matsuri's breath hitch and she grinned, letting out a small laugh at the idea that Matsuri had a crush on Gaara; it was adorable. Sakura gently cut him with her chakra scalpel and closed her eyes, concentrating. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed some of her chakra into his body. Slowly, the poison filtered out of the incision and Sakura collected it with her other hand. It took about twenty-five minutes and by the time Sakura was done, she had a large purple ball of poison floating in her chakra-coated hand.

"I've removed the majority of it. I'll take this and study it. I'll make an antidote and tell you how you probably acquired so much poison in your system." Sakura grabbed a bottle and filtered the poison into it, capping the bottle. "Until I get back, go ahead and rest up. I should be back by tomorrow with the antidote. Goodnight, Kazekage-sama." Sakura bowed to him again, though Gaara shook his head.

"Thank you, Sakura-san. I appreciate it." She smiled at him and nodded. "And call me Gaara."

"Don't thank me until you're better, Gaara-san," she murmured, collecting her things and following Matsuri out of the room. "Do you have a laboratory of some sort?" Matsuri nodded and led her to another part of the hospital. Sakura grinned upon seeing the microscopes, feeling completely in her element, and started to look at the poison immediately.

* * *

><p>"Ah-ha!" Matsuri stirred from her slumber, blinking and yawning. Sakura held up vial of green liquid, grinning triumphantly. "I've got it! For sure this time!" Matsuri rubbed her eyes yawning again. She glanced up at the clock realizing it was already three o'clock in the morning. Sakura had been working for over six hours.<p>

"Sakura-san, shouldn't you continue in the morning?" Matsuri asked tiredly. Sakura didn't acknowledge her, instead scribbling down some notes. Matsuri sighed, closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep. The next time she woke up, it was to Sakura nudging her.

"Let's go on up to bed," she told Matsuri. "I've finished down here." Matsuri rubbed her eyes and stood up.

"Did you get the cure?" she asked drowsily. Sakura nodded.

"Everything. I'll heal him in the morning." Matsuri nodded, too tired to ask anything else. She glanced at the clock on her way out, seeing it was past four o'clock. Sakura had worked so long and hard for Gaara... She was definitely worth hiring. The Kazekage was in no better care than in Sakura's.

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><p>"...and so that's why I think you weren't poisoned intentionally but accidentally."<p>

"It's that rare?" Gaara asked her, already showing signs of recovery from the antidote Sakura had given him. Sakura nodded.

"I asked Matsuri if you had any new plants in your office or house and she confirmed that one of your ninja, someone named Sari, gave you the plant from her last mission in Grass. This rare plant produces the poison you breathed in and accumulated over the period of time. It was relatively simple to cure but I did have Matsuri burn the plant and sterilize your office. You'll be fine after I give you the herbs for your pneumonia. And, of course, I have a few remedies for your insomnia." Sakura smiled at Gaara, putting down her clipboard.

"All these weeks I've been so sick and within one day, you're able to fix me." He sighed, shaking his head. "Suna's medical ninja just aren't up to par."

"The poison wasn't easy to locate. I'm just in tune with the effects poison has on chakra so I can spot it very quickly- more quickly than Tsunade-sama, even. Poison is my specialty, I'd have to say."

"We're lucky to have you then," Gaara told her, offering his own smile.

"Anything to help a friend," Sakura replied, bowing her head. "You've done so much for our village and for Naruto that I'd do anything to help you and your village. After all, allies should also be friends." That brought a slightly bigger smile to Gaara's face and he nodded.

"I agree full-heartedly," he told her, his eyes nearly sparkling."Sakura-san, in thanks for everything you've done, please feel free to stay in the village as long as you wish. We would love to have you and any suggestions you could make to our hospital."

"Well..." Sakura began, thinking, "I think I can stay for a week or so. I'd love to help at your hospital."

"That would be most appreciated. After all, it's no secret that Konoha has the best hospital out of any of the five main villages. Not just for the top-notch medics but for efficiency and survival rate of your patients." Sakura felt a glimmer of pride when he said that. After all, she ran said hospital.

"Of course, Gaara-san, I'll do anything I can to help."

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><p>"Good-bye, Sakura-sama!" Matsuri almost had tears in her eyes, Sakura realized. Temari, Kankuro, Matsuri, and Gaara had all come to send her off after her two-week long stay in Suna. Sakura knew she'd miss them, despite the short amount of time she had spent there. Matsuri was such a sweet girl and so cheerful; they had become fast friends. Temari and Kankuro were always kind to her, and Sakura had enjoyed spending time with the two- they had sparred together, worked on improvements for the hospital together, and the two had even dragged Sakura around the village to sample local delicacies. And Gaara... well, Sakura could have never imagined the man to have once been hated by his village, and a sadistic killer. Gaara was the epitome of a gentleman- he was polite, he listened to her suggestions, and he was fun to be around. If Matsuri hadn't been madly in love with Gaara, Sakura could have seen herself falling for the Kazekage.<p>

The past two weeks, Sakura had helped the Suna hospital by training some of its medics and suggesting to Gaara how they could improve the hospital. She was also able to spar with Temari and Kankuro, and teach Matsuri some simple healing jutsu, much to the girl's delight. She also taught Matsuri how to mix herbal remedies that would benefit Gaara, which also pleased the girl. The rest of the time, Sakura spent relaxing, whether it was by shopping, sampling local foods, or relaxing in Suna's beautiful hot springs, as well as getting a special hot-sand-spa treatment. Some things were just divine, Sakura realized, and Suna's spa treatments were on that list.

"Good-bye, everyone!" Sakura waved. "Gaara, please remember to use the herbal remedies whenever you are having trouble sleeping. Just write if you need any more help for anything! I'd love to come back!"

"Of course. Thank you for everything, Sakura," Gaara replied, giving his own soft smile. She felt a bit of heat rise to her cheeks, but quickly pushed it down, giving him a heartfelt smile.

"Have a safe journey!" Temari called, waving to her. "Tell Shikamaru I want him to write!" Sakura laughed and nodded, starting to walk towards the gates. She turned around once more, waving to the group.

"Matsuri-san, please make sure to write to me! I'd love to hear any more developments to your relationship," Sakura told her, giving the girl a wink. Matsuri's face erupted into flames, but she nodded. The two had discussed Matsuri's crush on Gaara and their lack of relationship quite extensively during the two weeks Sakura had spent there. And while Sakura hadn't seen positive signs of Gaara reciprocating the chuunin girl's feelings, she still told Matsuri that things could always get better. Still, if only she didn't have honor towards her friends, Sakura thought sighing. Because if she had never befriended Matsuri, she was sure she would have pursued Gaara. That man was quite the catch!

"Farewell, everyone! I hope to see you again soon!" Sakura waved, with the four returning her gesture with their own waves. She turned around and dashed out into the sandy desert, her eyes set forward. She had over a week to spend how she pleased, and Sakura had decided to take a trip to the border of Fire Country and collect some rare herbs there. And since it wouldn't be a vacation without some relaxation involved, she was also going to visit a quaint, little town near the border that was rumored to have some fantastic hot springs.

Sakura grinned. Things were looking up.

* * *

><p>She arched her back and stretched, yawning. Her bag was filled with herbs and her muscles were completely relaxed. But her week was coming to a close and Sakura knew she needed to return back to her village. She sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She was staying in a nice hotel room with fluffy, soft beds, fabulous food, and the best part, hot springs attached to the building.<p>

"I bet I can take a short-cut by going down this way," Sakura murmured, looking at the map of Fire Country on the wall. She would be going through territory she hadn't been through in a long time, but that didn't worry her. She was a strong, capable kunoichi and she could protect herself. "It should be much faster; I'll be able to travel mostly by forest and not have to follow the long, winding roads."

It didn't take her long to gather up her belongings, eat, pay for the room, and depart from the town. Once Sakura was back on the road, she took to the trees, jumping through them quickly. It was mind-numbing and boring, but tolerable, though Sakura did feel a bit upset that her mission was ending so soon. She hadn't realized how much she had needed the break from the hospital and from her revival jutsu. It was nice to be away from Naruto, her staff, and even Tsunade. It was nice to be out of Konoha. The best part, too, was that she had hardly dreamed of Itachi or the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

A few hours into her journey, Sakura realized the trees were becoming thinner and even burnt. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the burnt trees, realizing it led up to some old ruins. Sakura looked around the area, her mind racing. She was _sure_ she had been at this place before. The clearing was so familiar. The building had been shattered, burns marred the trees, and the entire area was scorched and reduced to rubble.

Sakura stooped down, picking up a piece of the rubble that looked like something was drawn on it. She dusted it off, seeing that it was a cracked Uchiha flag engraving.

"Huh. This must be an Uchiha base of some sort." That was when it hit her. She was on the other side of the base, but she realized why the place was so familiar. This was the battle place of Sasuke and Itachi. She had been here once before, the day Itachi had died. She and her team, Team Seven and Team Eight combined, had been sent out to pursue and capture Itachi. But they had failed, because Sasuke was able to kill Itachi before they could get him. Their team had been delayed by Tobi... no Madara, and by the time they had made it to the hideout, Itachi's body was gone, as was Sasuke.

Sakura walked around the clearing, memories flashing before her eyes. She hadn't thought about that mission for some time (she tended not to try and remember missions that had ended in failure; it always left a bad taste on her mouth). So lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the oddly placed stone in the middle of the clearing, and tripped over it. Regaining her balance, she looked at the rock.

She approached it, her eyebrows creasing more and more. Kneeling down at it, she touched it, recoiling her hand quickly. It shocked her with electricity when she touched it. Sakura frowned, realizing that whatever the stone was, it was important. She touched it again, sending her chakra through the stone, disabling the electric currents. That was when she realized that the stone was also covered in some sort of genjutsu. Sakura sent a little more chakra to her fingertips, touching the stone and disrupting the genjutsu.

The clean slate faded away, leaving a dusty rock with something imprinted in chakra underneath it. Sakura dusted off the stone and summoned a bit of chakra to her fingertips again, going over the chakra imprints on the stone. Whoever had placed the stone there had really thought it was important, as they not only set an electrical jutsu on it, but placed a genjutsu over it, and even hid their message with chakra. Sakura finally got the message to appear and the words shocked her, sending her stumbling back from the stone.

"Why? Why...? What...?" Sakura trembled, something that always seemed to occur whenever he was mentioned or thought about.

The stone was Itachi Uchiha's grave. Sakura remembered, then, Sasuke's words from before. He had buried Itachi back at the battlefield where they had fought. Itachi's body hadn't been there the last time she was here, so Sasuke must have taken the body back to the area after Madara's death. Her hands quivered, as she realized Sasuke would have made a special trip to give his brother the proper burial he had deserved.

She glanced back up at the markings, a knot forming in her throat. The only thing the grave said was _Itachi Uchiha_ but the implications behind that grave were so much more. Just a few feet away from her was the one man who had killed his clan, who she had spent so long blaming and hating for what he did to Sasuke, but in truth, he had only accomplished what he was told to.

"Itachi..." Sakura whispered, her body chilled. That was when a thought struck her, something so incredible that it even caused her to stop shaking. She had a revival jutsu and she needed a body to test it out on. Itachi Uchiha was an innocent shinobi who deserved a second chance at life.

She could give him that second chance.

Sakura's fingers trembled as she looked at the grave again.

_A second chance at life... to redeem himself... to live the life he never got to live..._

_A second chance..._

Her fingers twitched and she opened her eyes, finally deciding. Itachi Uchiha would be her test subject.

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I was watching Black Butler while editing this, so all the characters spoke in an English-accent in my head. It was weird. .<p>

Anyways, notes on this chapter!

1. Heiwa- Sakura's dog's name: Heiwa is Japanese for "peace" and is Itachi's favorite word. While it won't have any large impact on the story, I just thought it would be cute to use Itachi's favorite word as Sakura's dog's name. That's why I picked it.

2. Sari- the female Sand nin who gave Gaara his plant: she's real, too. Sari and Matsuri are both in the manga. Both girls love Gaara, at that.

3. Sakura and Gaara: yeah, I think I gave some pairing hints for them. Sorry if you don't like that pairing. I just think it's cute :D Still, the story is strictly Sakura/Itachi, so no worries! I'm keeping to that pairing all the way through. It's just been boring since Itachi hasn't been properly introduced yet. I wanted Sakura to have her own little crush, too :3

I think that's everything that needed clarification. I'm going to wrap this chapter up now, 'cause my laptop is going to die soon and I don't have a charger near me :( Besides, I want to finish watching Black Butler! :D If there are any questions, please feel free to ask in a review. I do try to respond as quickly as possible.

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Sakura has found Itachi's body. She can actually do it- she can actually revive him. But, there is something holding her back from beginning the revival process; does Itachi **want**_ to come back to life? He haunts her dreams, and haunts her every thought. There is only one thing she can do to get the answer, though; she goes back to the place it all began, back to the Uchiha Compound, if only to get some sort of closure and answer. __

__**Chapter Four: Itachi Uchiha**__

The plot is beginning to come fruition...! 

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><p>Guys, I think I'm going to run out of "The plot... ...!" sayings soon. :O I don't know how I'll be able to keep it up for 25 chapters. Speaking of which, I have up to Chapter Fifteen drafted! Haha :D<p>

Anyways, thanks for reading! See you next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4: Itachi Uchiha

So sorry about the week's delay! I wasn't home last Saturday to finish editing and this week has been hell, so there was no way I was posting anything this week lol. Maybe if this upcoming week cools down, I may post the next chapter early to make up for the delay. I feel bad.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

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><p><span>Chapter Four:<span>_ Itachi Uchiha  
><em>

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><p>Her fist trembled, and it wasn't just from the chakra surging through it. Just a gentle tap and she would crack the ground and find him. She would have her dead body to experiment on and revive.<p>

The trembles spread to her arm. Ever so gently, Sakura lowered her fist to the ground, swallowing hard. She tapped her knuckles to the ground, barely making an indent. She took a deep breath, brought her fist down keeping precise control on how much chakra she released, and closed her eyes as the ground fissured apart. She opened her eyes and started grabbing the split rocks, clearing the hole. It was a tiring process and several times, she had to break the ground further. Finally, probably a good four feet down into the ground, she found Itachi.

Sakura had touched dead people and dead things plenty of times, but something about touching the dead Itachi chilled her to the bone. She hoisted him out of the grave, trying not to look at him. Finally, she got him out and rolled him onto the ground. Sakura took a deep breath and let her eyes scan over him, realizing almost instantaneously what was wrong-or more like not wrong- with him.

He wasn't decomposed. He had been dead for five years, yet his flesh was still in perfect condition, as were his bones, muscles- everything. Not even his hair had fallen out. It was like he was only sleeping.

"Did Sasuke do this?" Sakura mumbled, now thoroughly intrigued. How did Sasuke know a preservation jutsu? That was typically a more advanced medical ninjutsu that even most medics didn't know. Sakura threaded her chakra into his body and realized the jutsu that had preserved his body hadn't come from Sasuke, or even from Itachi. If it had been anyone else, Sakura would have never known who had placed the jutsu on Itachi, but there was only one person in the entire universe that had this type of chakra, and though she had only met him a few times, his chakra signature was engraved in her mind.

_Madara Uchiha_.

Just thinking the name made her skin chill. She wasn't sure why Madara would have put a body preservation jutsu on Itachi but she was sure she'd figure it out as soon as she thoroughly examined him. But Sakura couldn't examine Itachi like that until she returned to her laboratory in Konoha. She needed a sterilized, medically-inclined environment to properly examine him.

However, since he was in perfect condition, Sakura could definitely use him as her test subject. She'd have to pre-heal him, of course, but soon enough, Itachi Uchiha would be up and walking around again. Of course, that was if her jutsu was a success and, a more current issue, she could hide his body until the time came to use the jutsu on him.

Sakura gently touched him, almost expecting his eyes to snap open and his hand to grab her wrist. But he didn't. He was peaceful looking with a soft smile on his face. Sakura felt a chill go up her spine as she touched his face, realizing she was probably the only woman to ever be so close to him. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing nerves.

She had to get him back to Konoha with her without being discovered. Sakura took a deep breath, formed her hand seals, and placed a light genjutsu over him, making him invisible (one of the only genjutsus she could proficiently cast). She hoisted him up onto her shoulders, wrapping his arms around her neck. She tried not to think that she had a five-year long dead body on her back, even though she could definitely smell the death and dirt on him that illustrated that fact. Sakura almost retched.

She counted to ten to let the nausea pass and then jumped away from the area, using chakra to keep Itachi on her back. It would be a long journey back.

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><p>By the fifth hour into her journey, she realized that she had mostly forgotten about Itachi on her back. Her chakra was keeping the majority of his weight off of her, she had finally gotten used to the cadaver smell, and jumping from tree to tree was a rather mundane activity that let her mind wander away from the fact that he was on her back.<p>

She could only imagine how he would react when she finally revived him. Sakura knew she'd have to explain everything to him- really, there was no reason to keep anything a secret from him. After all, thinking back to the only time she met him and the few times Naruto had met him, he had never actually harmed them. He had placed Naruto under a genjutsu but other than that, he had never physically harmed them when he easily could have.

Though, she realized, he had harmed Kakashi-sensei and had fought against Kurenai and Asuma years before. But they were still alive at the end of the battle when he could have easily killed all of them. Itachi had never killed any of the Konoha ninja, at least from what she could tell. Itachi had the capabilities to effortlessly kill any of them (she had heard his power was equal to Jiraiya, if not stronger than him) and if Madara had never killed Itachi, then Itachi had to be, possibly, the strongest ninja in the world.

Then again, Sasuke did kill him so maybe Sakura was giving Itachi too much credit. Either way, Itachi was far stronger than she was and if he turned violent when she revived him, she would surely die. However, Sakura had the feeling that he wouldn't harm her in the slightest way. Itachi seemed like a polite man and Sakura was going to make him a proposition he would be foolish to refuse. She was giving him a second chance at life. No one would ever get the same chance he did.

Of course, there were several more problems she had to work out. One, of course, was his appearance. Itachi was, without a doubt, gorgeous; more so than Sasuke, Neji, Kakashi, Naruto, even Gaara. Sakura had never seen someone as handsome as Itachi. That led to problems since hiding that beauty would be no easy task once Itachi was revived. Itachi was still an S-class criminal that would be killed on sight if he was ever spotted in the village. If Sakura wanted to give him a second chance by allowing him to become a Konoha ninja and live the life he never got, he would have to change his identity. And since his appearance was so easily recognizable, Sakura wasn't sure what she could do to hide it.

Admittedly, she didn't really want to alter his appearance too much because he was such great eye-candy. She had seen his picture enough times, and even in death he hadn't changed much; he still had his long, feminine eyelashes; silky, black hair; fair skin; and the best facial structure she had ever seen on a man. His nose was long and slender; his cheeks softly curved but angular enough to be masculine; his lips were full enough to be attractive but thin enough to be delicate looking and not overpowering. He was beauty incarnate, really.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head at her thoughts. Lusting over Itachi was not one of her goals nor something she wanted to make a habit. It was hard not to, certainly, but she knew she would do what needed to be done to him to alter his appearance significantly enough that he wouldn't immediately be thought of as Itachi. His Sharingan would have to be changed into a regular eye color and structure, and maybe she could alter his long tear troughs under his eyes to make them less prominent. Finally, she figured she could maybe change his hair style, though thinking of Itachi without long hair seemed almost blasphemous.

Well, she'd worry more about it once he was alive and well. They'd talk over what she could do to him. Sakura had a feeling he wouldn't care too much as long as she didn't dye his hair some ridiculous color like platinum blonde or bright orange. Granted, she didn't want to dye or alter his hair, though.

Sakura shook her head, finally jumping down from the branch. She released her genjutsu on Itachi, though she surrounded the area in another genjutsu so no one would spot her. She stretched her sore muscles and plopped down on the ground. Looking over at his peaceful body, she sighed, speaking, though her voice cracked a little since she hadn't spoken in so long, "I guess it's just you and me, huh?" She gave a half smile, shook her head, and went about her business preparing food and washing up before she laid down to sleep for the night.

* * *

><p>It took her a few more days than usual to arrive at the village because she had to take the longer, less traveled ways to avoid people spotting her. Sakura was nervous carrying Itachi's dead body around, even if she did have an invisibility genjutsu on him. Who knew who might have an ability to spot the genjutsu on him and then disable it and identify him? Sakura really didn't want to explain everything to Tsunade yet about her jutsu and why she was stealing Itachi's dead body to experiment on. She had a feeling her mentor wouldn't like it.<p>

After all, Sakura was tampering with the dead, which she was pretty sure was a possible criminal offense, seeing as how Orochimaru got in trouble for it in the past. Especially since Sakura was now bringing home a dead body to test her jutsu out on. Furthermore, Sakura would have to explain that she had found the hidden files room and that she knew the truth about Itachi and the Massacre, which Sakura was sure was another criminal offense. And, she was sure her jutsu was an S-class jutsu that was probably categorized under the "Not-supposed-to-attempt-due-to-possible-user-risks-and-everyone-else-risks". Which, Sakura figured, could also be called a Forbidden Jutsu.

Really, she was hoping that by time she'd have to confess to the jutsu and everything else, her plan would have come to fruition so that Itachi would be an invaluable Konoha ninja that had gained Tsunade and Naruto's trust; and her jutsu would be without too many horrendous flaws, making Tsunade so pleased with her progress that she would overlook all the possible crimes Sakura was committing and, instead, would praise her for her hard work. After all, Sakura didn't have a bad intention- she merely wanted to help people, and at this current moment, she was going to help Itachi get the life he never received because of his clan.

That was really what she wanted to do for him. Sakura wanted to show him life without the attachments of the Uchiha name-sake draped upon his shoulders and smothering him. She wanted him to experience life as he should have, where he could have served his village without the wrongdoings of his clan and the village; without the constant threat of war looming over the horizon.

Sakura slid through the Konoha gates (the back gates, at that) and rushed through the checkpoints, which were very lax with her. She took the back alley ways to her house, avoiding all ninjas and the majority of civilians. She took a deep breath, finally making it to her doorstep. Sakura threaded her chakra into her lock, hearing the pleasant click of the door unlocking for her chakra. She closed the door behind her, locking it. Sakura made sure all her curtains were closed and walked down to her laboratory.

Heiwa greeted her at her steps, his tail wagging happily to see her. Sakura dispelled her genjutsu on Itachi and Heiwa cocked his head to the side, regarding Itachi suspiciously and curiously.

"Don't make a sound, Heiwa," she whispered to her dog, her heart thumping hard, as if Tsunade would burst into her door at any second. Or even worse, Naruto. She laid him down on her medical table in the middle of her lab, casting what few high-level genjutsus she knew over him to make him invisible and untraceable; still, the genjutsus felt pathetic and weak, and did not calm her racing nerves.

Then she locked the door and rushed back upstairs, finally petting Heiwa, and then rushing back out her door to go check in with Tsunade.

* * *

><p>"So, nothing else happened?" Tsunade asked her, rather bored. Sakura shrugged, running her fingers through her hair.<p>

"Not really. I collected a few herbs and then came on back to Konoha."

"It took you longer than usual," Tsunade commented, not looking up at her. Sakura giggled, rubbing her head sheepishly, trying to fight down her racing heart. She had rehearsed this story multiple times- she knew what to say. There was no reason to be nervous.

"I'm not going to lie," she finally said, lying to her mentor, "it felt really nice to get out of the village. I took the long way home." Tsunade finally looked up from the paper she was reading, giving Sakura a soft smile.

"You know, you could just tell me when you want a break. I understand how hard it is to run a hospital and how the need to escape is pretty strong. Just _tell _me, Sakura. I'll be more than happy to give you time off." Sakura smiled, knowing that her mentor truly would do whatever to relieve her should she ask for it.

"Now," Tsunade's voice changed back into the Hokage voice and she looked back down at her report, "the Kazekage speaks highly of you and what you accomplished. He wrote to say that the hospitals in Suna have improved significantly from your suggestions and that if I could ever spare you again, he'd love to have you back. He finished your report by saying that you are a precious jewel in the shinobi community and one that is irreplaceable and that you are always welcomed whenever you wish to come back to Suna. He also said that if you need him at any time, do not hesitate to ask and he considers you a personal friend and thanks you for everything you did. And your sleep remedies worked because he is sleeping soundly." Tsunade looked up raising her eyebrows. "What, in Kami's name, did you _do_?" Tsunade shook her head. "I have never, as in never ever, received a report from another Kage that praised one of my shinobi so highly. Especially something from Gaara, who is rather known to be a bit cold to most."

"I... I just healed him," Sakura told her, flabbergasted. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I guess my strategies for improving the hospital impressed him?" Tsunade shook her head, turning around and picking up a scroll.

_"I have been told from my aid that Sakura spent the majority of the night researching a cure for my illness and cause for it. She arrived at Suna shortly after four o'clock in the afternoon and did a thorough check-up on me by seven o'clock at night. My aid has reported that she spent the rest of the night, until after four o'clock in the morning, researching the illness and remedying it. By the next day, Sakura had completely healed me and had gotten rid of the cause of illness and poison, as well as explained what had happened and provided several antidotes should it ever occur again," _Tsunade read directly from Gaara's report. "Sakura, I've never had another report like this before. I'm not sure what exactly I should do with you."

"Do with me?" Sakura echoed. Tsunade nodded.

"Do you understand how good this makes our village look?" she asked, her eyes practically sparkling. "Gaara will spread the word around about what a great medical ninja we have here and how she single-handedly improved Suna's medics. Soon enough, Mist will be asking to use you, then Cloud, and then eventually, I'm going to be sending you to every village." Tsunade sighed, almost dreamily, and shook her head at her student. "I knew you would do great things when I began to train you, but to be completely honest, I never thought you'd become this powerful. Sakura, you're as good as medic as I am. You run the Konoha Hospital flawlessly. You've impressed the Kazekage to the highest degree, to where he has extended his personal friendship and help to you, as well as extended you an invitation to his village. You've created several medical jutsus and improved many other medical techniques. You've lost many fewer patients than I had at your age and are far better medic than I was. So, Sakura, what's next?"

_Reviving dead people_, Sakura murmured in her head. But instead she said: "I'm not sure, Tsunade-sama. I guess it would be kind of nice to be sent to other villages and help stabilize their hospitals. I could some sort of ambassador or something like that." Tsunade nodded, interlocking her fingers underneath her chin.

"You have done excellent work," she finally said. "If the other villages begin requesting your aid, I'll be sure to let you know. Your pay will be deposited into your account, as usual. You are dismissed." Sakura nodded, smiling. As she was leaving, Tsunade called out to her. "You've made me very proud, Sakura, not just as your Hokage but as your teacher." That brought a much brighter and more genuine smile to Sakura's face.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

><p>She was staring at his body, contemplating what to do. He looked so peaceful that she was naturally hesitating. Itachi had to have known that when he had agreed to the Uchiha Massacre mission, he would later be killed. Itachi was a methodical man- he likely planned out how he had died, and by reviving him, she was ruining his plans.<p>

Sakura knew he had planned for Sasuke to kill him. He had planned for that the moment he killed his clan. That was the reason he had sent Sasuke out on a mission of revenge, making Sasuke spiral downwards to take him out.

That, therefore, was the problem. If she interfered in the brothers' plans, if she involved herself in what had become a twisted story between the two, then would it all work out in the end? All in all, did Itachi really _want_ to come back to life? He was free now. He didn't have to worry about his little brother, he didn't even have to see how far Sasuke had fallen. Itachi could rest in peace for all eternity. Was it right for Sakura to have that control over life and death and bring back a man who had never expressed interest in living and controlling his own fate? Really, that was an accurate assessment of Itachi, even if it pained her to think that. Itachi was agreeable to let Sasuke kill him; agreeable to the fact that he would die the moment he took the lives of the Uchiha Clan. He had never once tried to stop that fate.

So who was she to reverse what careful plans he had laid out? Who was she to play God, and bring back someone who might eternally resent her? Sakura wasn't sure. Most ninja would thankful for what she would do. They would appreciate being brought back to life if they had been prematurely killed. But Itachi was no regular shinobi. He had planned his death out from a young age; had accepted the fact that he would die before ever hitting age twenty-five. He was expecting to die and there were no qualms on his part about being killed by his brother's hand.

She couldn't deny that. Sakura had learned enough about Itachi's true character from that scroll. She knew that he would not be overly pleased if she brought him back to life. She almost felt like she was being selfish to do something like this.

She _was_ being selfish; she was reviving Itachi because she was furious at what had happened to him. It wasn't fair that he was forced to give up _everything_ for a warped mess of politics between his clan and the leadership of the village. Sakura was thoroughly _pissed_ at what she had read. She was pissed at the scroll, she was pissed at the Uchiha Clan, and she was pissed at the village. It wasn't fair at what had happened to Itachi. He shouldn't have been involved at all. He was innocent!

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes. She didn't know what to do. Her thoughts were leading her in circles. She wanted to revive him, but she didn't know if he wanted to be revived, but yet, he deserved to be revived; still, she wasn't sure...

Sakura groaned. There was nothing she could do. She was getting more angry thinking about it. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that she was angry at how Itachi was treated. And she wanted to do something about it. She wanted to spite everyone who wanted Itachi dead. That was what she wanted to do. Sakura had the means to do that, too. All she had to do was revive him. Then she would get the last laugh at the Council, because she would be the factor that had ruined their carefully laid out plans. The only thing holding her back was the ethical nature of the jutsu.

Simply put, was it right to revive Itachi? And did he want to be revived? She just couldn't answer those questions.

* * *

><p>This part of town was abandoned. It was old and run down; half of it was destroyed and had never been repaired from the damage done by Pain's Shinra Tensei. It was the old Uchiha Compound. Because it was on the outskirts of the village, right near the village walls, half of the Compound survived the destruction of Konoha. Since then, there had been several new buildings placed around the old compound but no one ever actually tore the old buildings down.<p>

Sakura was taking a walk through this section of town, trying to get a feel for what Itachi had to live with. She could just picture him walking down these same streets, his gaze penetrating to those who saw him but really, he was just so misunderstood. He had to have been so miserable in this place. So, so miserable as an Uchiha. All Uchiha's lives end so tragically.

Sakura placed a hand on a large pole, closing her eyes. She leaned her forehead against it, swallowing hard as she imagined the suspicion that had to arise in those final months before Itachi had turned on them. Sakura had read the scroll; she knew they had to be suspicious of Itachi and how he had acted towards his clan at the end- after all, he had to act like a clan killer before he massacred his clan. Everything had to look perfect- to seem like Itachi had went insane. Sakura knew the suspicion had to kill him. All because of that damn scroll.

Her fist clenched and she punched the pole, tears flooding her eyes. He was so innocent! She glanced up with tear-filled eyes, spotting graffiti on one of the buildings.

**_He killed everyone- man, woman, child! He's not such a great hero now, is he?_**

It was a spiteful note written towards Itachi, Sakura was positive. Someone upset and jealous over him and by carving it into the building, they had spread their message to forever remind the village that their favorite ninja was a bad guy.

"What do you know?" Sakura exclaimed at the wall, furiously rubbing her tears away. She was so angry at everything and why she had decided to come down here was beyond her. It had been well over two months since she had read that scroll but this was the first time she had ever actually stepped foot in this part of town. She knew it would get to her.

Sakura clenched her teeth together, trembling. She had never actually let out her anger from reading that scroll. She knew it was bound to build up and erupt before long. But she knew, deep down, she knew why she was here and why she was letting all her anger out now.

This was the end of that hatred and the resentment towards the village and the mission. Itachi would be revived and he would get his second chance. Sakura had to let go of that anger and hate before she let Itachi see it because she didn't want to remind him of the life he had left behind. She was supposed to heal him, and that included mentally because she was sure he would have severe psychological issues from the event and that mission.

So by being here, in the place that had caused it all, Sakura was going to let go of the anger and hatred and move on. And maybe, just maybe, she could understand Itachi a little better. She could finally answer her questions if Itachi wanted to be revived.

She walked up to the graffiti-covered wall, punching it hard. It shattered the brick, cracks splintering up and chunks of ancient rock falling all over the ground. The words were gone. "You don't know anything," she whispered, taking a deep breath.

Sakura continued to walk down the street, not really looking at any of the buildings. She could only imagine Itachi walking these same roads, thinking of nothing more than saving his village and keeping peace. Her feet led her to Sasuke's old home and Sakura stared up at it, swallowing nervously as her throat went dry. She opened the door and padded down the hallways. She felt like an intruder but she knew she had to do this; she had to see as much as she could of his old life.

Though they had been cleaned, she could still see the faint red tint of the bloodstains from Mikoto and Fugaku. She knew Sasuke hadn't lived in this building since that day of his parents' murder; instead he had lived closer to the village, in the farthest Uchiha building from this house in the compound. Nothing in this house had really been touched, though she could see that ninjas had carefully searched through it.

Sakura went through each room, finding the kitchen, living room, Sasuke's old bedroom, and his parents' room, and finally, at the back of the house, she found the room she was searching for: Itachi's room. It was gray with wooden floors; a plain white bed with a worn red blanket; a bookshelf; a desk; and finally a dresser with a mirror over top of it. Sakura curiously opened his dresser, seeing all his clothes neatly folded. She was sure that the ANBU had already checked everything here for hidden genjutsus or seals of some sort. Sakura wasn't even going to bother with it.

She picked out a gray top, holding it up. It was musty and when she took it out, she saw a spider scatter back into the drawer. Sakura looked at the top, her throat constricting as she tried to hold back tears. He had so much life ahead of him...

She folded the top back and placed it back in the dresser, shaking her head; she was becoming too sentimental- it was shameful. All of his clothes were relatively the same- black mesh tops, black high-collared Uchiha shirts, gray ninja tops, and the occasional blue shirt. He owned one yukata; she found it tucked in the fourth drawer down and pushed to the very back. It had an Uchiha fan on the back and was a steel gray that slowly faded to black along the edges. It had red trimming along the edges.

"So he did have some fashion taste," Sakura murmured, smiling softly. She placed it back and looked at the top of his dresser, noticing a collection of hair ties. All of them were various shades of black, gray, navy blue, and a few red. A brush lay beside the hair ties making Sakura grin even more as she pictured Itachi brushing his long hair and pulling it back into a ponytail. She looked at his bookshelf, tilting her head as she pulled out some of the texts he had. Many were books on famous shinobis but there were a few other action-packed, contemporary books mixed within, as well as some old classics. It made Sakura smile to see that Itachi had a decent bookshelf and had seemed to have been an avid reader. She found a few notebooks mixed within the books and took one out, thumbing through it. It was full of old Academy notes and Sakura marveled to see how neat and precise his handwriting was.

She put the book back and looked over his desk, seeing nothing but a neat, organized desk full of blank scrolls, paper, and a cup of pens and pencils, as well as a small ink set with assorted brushes. Everything was so neat and tidy, even if it was covered in a thick layer of dust. There was one more thing that caught Sakura's eye before she left the room. It was on his bookshelf that she hadn't noticed before. It was a picture frame and she curiously picked it up, wiping off the dust.

The picture brought tears to her eyes, seeing a younger Itachi holding his toddler brother. Itachi had to be around eight or nine and Sasuke was around three or four. Sasuke had a big cheesy smile on his face and was latched around Itachi's neck, while Itachi had a softer smile and was holding Sasuke to his hip.

"He loved him so much..." Sakura whispered, setting the picture back down. She glanced around Itachi's room again and closed the door tightly behind her, hurriedly leaving the Uchiha Compound and returning home. She had found her answer, though. It was kept in that small smile Itachi wore in that picture.

* * *

><p>She looked at Itachi's body, covered in dirt and grime and bloody clothes, and she knew she was going to have to start healing him soon. But she was hesitating, she knew that. She didn't want to harm his body or possibly destroy him. And she was unsure if he really wanted to come back to life.<p>

"So much has changed..." Heiwa sat at her feet and Sakura petted him absentmindedly. "What do you want me to do, Itachi?" She had everything ready for her to start healing him and examining him, but she still hesitated. She almost felt like she would be violating the dead should she do it.

"Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll start healing him tomorrow. C'mon, Heiwa, let's go to bed." Sakura flipped off the light and headed to her bedroom, changing into a long-sleeved shirt and crawling under her covers. Heiwa jumped into the bed beside her.

Sakura tossed and turned, never quite falling asleep. She could only think of Itachi just down the hallway, laying there on the steel medical table. She could only think of Sasuke's bitter, black eyes that stared through her whenever she visited him at the prison. Both made a swirling, nauseating combination in her head that made sleep elude her.

Finally, she climbed out of bed and padded down to her kitchen, making a cup of hot chocolate, something her mother had always made her as a child that had always calmed her. She paced back and forth in the kitchen, sipping her hot chocolate. The black eyes wouldn't leave her mind and she always kept thinking of the picture of Sasuke and Itachi as children. Itachi had loved Sasuke so much... Given up everything for his little brother. That was why she had to revive him. She wanted to give him back that smile. That was her answer. She didn't know if Itachi wanted to come back to life, but she did know that he deserved to smile like that again, and that he deserved the opportunity to love his brother again. That was why she would revive him.

She finished her cup of hot chocolate and went back upstairs, her nerves calmed considerably. This time, she fell asleep with little trouble.

* * *

><p><em>"You loved him so much." She touched his shoulder.<em>

_"I did." He shook his head and broke away from her touch. "I tried to do what was right but it didn't end up how I wanted it." _

_"You did everything you could." Her voice was a mere whisper in the ghostly wind. He glanced at her. _

_"Maybe I could have done something different. I'm not sure." _

_"You shouldn't have had to make that decision." _

_"It was my duty." She shook her head again. _

_"That's all the Uchiha's ever think about. Duty or revenge or whatnot. I want to let you be someone else; not an Uchiha."_

_"I think I would like that." This time, he smiled at her. She smiled back and reached out, offering her hand. _

_"I would like that too, Itachi." He accepted her outstretched hand and let her pull him along into the now lighted path where she saw so many other familiar faces that offered them warm smiles: Naruto, Tsunade, Gaara, Shizune, Ino, Hinata, Sai, Kakashi... The faces went on and on.  
><em>

_"Thank you."_

* * *

><p>When she woke up, she was feeling oddly refreshed and relaxed. She had never been a heavy believer in dreams, believing that they were either caused from stress or from events during the day that had no real significant meaning; or they were just imaginings her brain produced during her sleep due to electrical impulses. But this one time, she was going to bend her own rules in interpreting dreams. That dream felt like a sign, like a sign from Itachi in the afterlife that meant he wanted her to revive him and give him another chance. And the bright smiles her friends gave him made her feel like he would be accepted into the Konoha community and become a close friend to all of them as well. It sounded cliché, and a bit melodramatic, but so be it.<p>

"Heiwa, tonight, I'm going to do it. I'm going to begin the revival process." Heiwa cracked open an eye, cocking his head and promptly laying back down. Sakura felt happier and brighter than she had in days, no, weeks, no, months. Ever since she had found that scroll, she finally felt like the weight had lifted.

After getting dressed and showered, Sakura stopped back in to see Itachi. "Thank you, Itachi Uchiha, for this. I have my inspiration back. I will help people and I will give you a second chance. I will not let your sacrifice for this village go unrewarded. You were too good of a person to do that to." She recast the genjutsu on him and left, going on to the hospital.

She had a long day ahead of her and a long night, no, months, ahead of her to revive Itachi. And she was excited about it.

_Soon enough, you'll be back with us, Itachi. I'll make sure of it._

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><em>I don't think there is much to clear up for this chapter; well, maybe this:

1. Itachi's still preserved body: Sakura explained that it was Madara's doing. Next chapter will explain why Madara preserved his body.

Again, this was another boring-ish chapter; I apologize for this. When I drafted out the story, I didn't plan very well for how many chapters it would be until Itachi appeared. At least we now have a dead Itachi for Sakura to talk to, dream about, and slightly lust after in a weird boarderline-necrophilia creepy type of way :D

On a completely seperate note, did anyone read the latest chapter of Naruto? I have to admit, I was so mad when Naruto had to come in AGAIN to save Sakura. For God's sake, can't Sakura EVER be given the proper respect as a heroine and actually fight someone without having Naruto rescue her? The last decent fight she had was with Sasori; like three hundred chapters ago or something. I'm so tired of seeing Sakura as a damsal in distress; to be fair, I wasn't happy that Naruto had to save Hinata, either, but at least that girl was fighting, and though this is hypocritical, I was excited to see Naruto and Hinata possibly have a scene together. Since, you know, Naruto has done nothing to respond to Hinata's really freaking awesome love confession like hundred chapters ago. I don't think they've had a conversation together since then. So now I'm excited to see Naruto with her, possibly meaning they might just have some dialogue, and possibly even have Naruto reference her confession. I'm not expecting him to confess his own love to her, but for goodness sakes, I do want some type of acknowledgement to the fact that Hinata sacrificed herself to save Naruto, when no one else jumped in to save him. Just sayin'. (Sorry; that turned out to be more of a rant. My bad.)

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Sakura begins the tiring process of healing Itachi- and boy, is there a plethora of things wrong with the man! A disease, battle wounds, and missing eyes? Sakura has her work cut out for her with healing the fallen shinobi, and that's not including her own struggle with fighting away her lust for the dead man. Some men are simply too gorgeous for their own good. _

_**Chapter Five: Healing**_

__The plot is speeding up...!

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><p>Leave me any questions in a review! I love answering questions :D Some of you guys are really on the same wavelength as I am, too! Well, thanks for reading!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Healing

'Sup, ya'll. I'm tired, so Imma keep this note as short as possible. There are two things I want to bring up before reading this chapter. One, there is a lot of heavy medical terms in this chapter. I love biology and DNA and everything else like that, so this chapter was written more as a fun thing for me. I enjoyed writing this chapter, simply because of all the medical stuff it talks about. So I know I mention the term "scaffold" a lot- that is simply a frame that supports tissue contours. It is tended to be used to remake organs or whatnot. There may be some other terms in here; sorry if this chapter seems almost textbook-ish. Like I said, I love science, so I leaned pretty heavily on the subject during this chapter.

Second, a little more important, as well as spoilerish, I'd like to address the issue of Madara Uchiha. If anyone read the most recent issue of Naruto manga, you'll have seen how there is like two different Madara's now- or something weird like that. For this story's purposes, whenever I mention Madara, I'm talking about the Tobi/super bad one/main antagonist one. I'm not going to change his name or stop calling him Madara for the duration of this story. Just an fyi note :D

Okay, now onto the actual chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter Five: <em>Healing<em>

* * *

><p>Sakura laid his body out in front of her, a washcloth and tub of water ready to wash him. She hated handling dead bodies but she was sure she'd get used to it soon enough. She stripped off his clothes, keeping her mind completely professional as she washed his bare body. He was covered in dirt, blood, and grime from his last battle. After washing him off, Sakura looked over his body for wounds and injuries. He had a large gash in his left thigh, his right arm was severely injured with burns, and the most horrifying thing was that he was missing his eyes. They had been removed from his head. She would think more on <em>why <em>they had been removed later.

Slowly, she threaded her chakra into his body to check his internal damage. It was this process where Sakura realized that Itachi had been suffering from a disease for quite a long time. His lungs were marred with scars and had severe damage done to the cells and tissues. From the look of the damage, it seemed like Itachi had only recently been affected by the disease; possibly only for two or three years before his death. Sakura had a strange feeling that the revelation of this disease would explain a lot more about Itachi's death than what she had originally assumed.

Of course, now this meant before she revived him, she would have to work a miracle and cure his disease; after all, if she just revived him with the disease, he would die shortly afterwards. But it would probably be easier to cure him this way because of the fact he was dead, she could remove organs and heal him slower without the risk of the disease getting worse.

First, though, she had to diagnose the disease. Sakura made an incision with her chakra scalpel and sent her chakra into his lungs, scrapping out different samples of lung tissue. She pulled out the cells with her chakra and placed them in a vial to examine under the microscope. Sakura put her hands back over his body and sent her chakra through his system again, looking for any more internal damage. She saw some scarring and some kidney damage (kidney damage that had been getting progressively worse, Sakura realized. She stopped and got samples of his kidney cells to examine as well). Most of the internal damage, besides his lungs and kidneys, it seemed were from jutsus, fights, or just being a ninja. Most would be easy enough to heal.

Deciding that her top priority was to figure out his disease, Sakura took the two vials and went to work at her microscope, sitting down with several medical text books, notebooks, pens and paper, and even a cup of hot chocolate to keep her awake. It would be a long night of research, taking notes, and drawing pictures while staring at tiny cells.

* * *

><p>She yawned, stretched, and cracked her neck. She would have to send a message to Tsunade that she wasn't going to come into work today. Sakura would be honest, too, and say she was working on a medical issue that needed diagnosing.<p>

Sakura rubbed her bloodshot eyes and looked at the clock. It was already 4:45 in the morning and she felt exhausted but so excited. She was almost positive she knew what his disease was (a rare autoimmune disease that tended to show up between ages 18 to late twenties. It caused the immune system to attack the lungs and the kidneys, though in Itachi's case, it attacked the lungs much more than the kidneys.) Sakura wasn't sure she could cure the disease though she did have a few ideas that would be able to restore Itachi.

She had re-examined him and had determined what medicines he had been taking to treat the disease, which were immunosuppressive drugs, and though they had worked for a rather long time (Sakura had determined that the disease had been active for about three years or more) they never were able to actually cure his disease because, she assumed, he was constantly over-exerting his body by fighting or using his Sharingan. The strain eventually killed him, though the direct cause for his immediate death would have been the extreme exhaustion and exertion from his battle with Sasuke. If he hadn't fought Sasuke, then he might have lived a few more months (if that).

Sakura looked over his body, yawning. She figured she could use her chakra to make a scaffold of his lungs and kidneys. She would then take his lung cells and kidney cells and revive them; get them back to where they were reproducing on their own, and she would put them on the scaffold and let them grow over and make new lungs and kidneys. She could use her chakra to shape and mold the cells, too. However, before she did that, she would have to figure out a way to cure his autoimmune disease, which she knew would not be a fun process.

Sakura knew she would have to examine his genetic code and find the mutated genes that had caused his autoimmune disease. Luckily, she had found ways of using her chakra to identify mutated genes easier and then she could identify what that gene controlled and if that linked to his disease. If it did, she could fix it with her chakra to the correct gene code. It was a tedious task and would take a few weeks to do, but once it was done, she could begin to regrow his lungs and kidneys and heal the rest of his body.

"First things first, though," she muttered, turning around and grabbing a piece of paper. She wrote a quick note to Tsunade, explaining she was working on a case at home and she would not be able to make it into work due to the medical research she was conducting. Tsunade would understand, Sakura knew, and summoned her slug to take it to Tsunade. After that, Sakura finally went to bed for a few hours sleep.

* * *

><p>It was close to noon when she woke up. Or more like, Heiwa woke her up, whining for food. Sakura groggily got up and shuffled to her kitchen, filling his food bowl. After Heiwa was taken care of, she went and took a long shower, finally waking up. As she was drying off, she heard someone at her door. Groaning, she wrapped herself in a towel and threw a robe over her.<p>

"I swear if it's you, Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" Sakura yelled, opening the door. Except it wasn't the typical blonde ninja, instead being her old sensei. "Kakashi-sensei? What's up?" Sakura leaned against her door frame, raising her eyebrows. "You never visit me."

"Well, I'm here for two things. One is that Tsunade wants to know what exactly you're doing. She said that your nurses said you didn't have any major case going on." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I happened to have stumbled onto a guy with some rare disease. He asked me what was wrong with him and I couldn't figure it out so I had to take a biopsy of his lung tissue and diagnose it. He has a rare autoimmune disease."

"Where'd you meet him?" Sakura frowned and sighed.

"On my mission. After I left Suna. I met him at a village and I took his cells home in a vial. I told him I'd write him the results later on." Kakashi nodded. "And the other reason, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I heard you visited Sasuke before you left." Sakura had a feeling someone would ask her about him. She knew her odd visit to Sasuke would be questioned eventually but she truly hadn't expected it two months later.

"Yeah, two months ago," Sakura replied, raising her eyebrows. Two months, had of course, given her plenty of time to think of a plausible excuse to why she visited Sasuke. And as long as they didn't ask Sasuke what the two of them had talked about, or if they had, as long as Sasuke didn't tell, then Sakura could easily lie her way out if it.

"I was going to ask you sooner but our schedules never seemed to work out." Sakura nodded. "Why? I thought you hated him?"

"I suppose I do but I think it's diminishing the more and more time goes along. I went to see him because I had a feeling I didn't hate him as strongly as I had. And I was right. When I went in there to talk to him, the burning rage was gone and all I felt was nothing more than a hollow feeling. He means nothing to me- not romantically, not as a teammate, or even as someone that has hurt me in the past. I think I'm over and done with him, Kakashi-sensei, and that's why I visited him." It was true that after reading the scroll, Sakura no longer had a deep passionate hate for Sasuke, instead feeling a numb indifference when seeing him. And, of course, a deep pity for everything that had happened to him and to Itachi. But she wasn't going to tell Kakashi that.

"That's it?" Sakura nodded.

"That's it. Anything else you need? I would really like to go get dressed." Sakura gestured to her robe and Kakashi nodded.

"No, that's all. Thank you and I'll see you around." She nodded and waved as he poofed away. She shut the door, returned back to her room to dress, ate some lunch after that, and returned back to her lab.

"Okay, Itachi, let me do one more check to make sure nothing else is wrong with you." She took a deep breath and placed her hands on his torso, sending her chakra through his body. Her check was extremely thorough because she started from the feet and slowly moved up. By the time she made it to his lungs, she had been examining him for almost an hour. Sakura threaded her chakra through his chakra pathways, examining the conditions of his cells, veins, arteries, tissues, organs; everything.

It took another hour for her to make her other big discovery. She had made it up to his eyes, which she had, of course, noticed in previous examinations that they were missing and the surrounding chakra pathways were severely severed. But now she understood why there was so much damage done to his eyes. It was because of the person who removed them.

Sakura gasped, stumbling away from his body. She recognized the chakra signature that lingered around the frayed ends of his chakra pathways, and this signature made her stumble in horror. It was Madara Uchiha. His chakra was so dark and fierce that it always made her stomach clench tightly. She could tell that he had burnt away the nerves of Itachi's eyes which were why they were so damaged. It was obvious that Madara wasn't an extremely skilled medical ninja due to the sloppy procedure of the removal of his eyes. His chakra pathways were jaggedly cut and the nerves had been destroyed all around the eyes. Sakura opened an eyelid, meeting the deep darkness that made her stomach churn and she quickly probed her chakra in deeper, gauging the damage from Madara's technique. She was horrified at the damage he had caused to Itachi's eyes. If she weren't a skilled medic who had experience with the Sharingan and eyes in general, then when he were to get his eyes back, she wouldn't have been able to heal him because the nerves were so damaged.

If Madara was the one who put the preservation on Itachi, and the one that had removed Itachi's eyes... Well, she supposed it made sense. Madara needed to preserve Itachi's body after the battle with Sasuke so he could remove Itachi's eyes at a later date. She didn't know _why_ Madara removed Itachi's eyes, but at least she had pieced together why Madara had placed the preservation jutsu on Itachi.

"I'll have to figure out a way to get your eyes back," Sakura murmured, sighing as she removed her chakra from him. First priority was his disease and healing his body and then she'd figure out something with his eyes. She had a sneaking suspicion, though, that she would have to find eye transplants for him, but she might be able to make his eyes. Sakura wasn't really sure.

There was nothing she could really do at the moment for his eyes so she instead turned back to curing his disease. Sakura threaded her chakra back into his system, covering his lungs with it. The chakra molded around his lungs and Sakura let her hands hover over his body, closing her eyes, fiercely concentrating. Slowly, her chakra evaporated out of his body, forming into exact replicas of his lungs, leaving spaces for blood vessels and veins and such.

This jutsu was something she had developed on her own during her studies of her revival jutsu. She could harden her chakra to form a mold and then be able to transport it out of a person's body without losing the shape of the mold. It was difficult and left her breathless afterwards due to the intense amount of concentration needed. If she let her grip over the chakra slip as she pulled it out, the chakra mold would fall apart and she would lose everything she had just worked for.

Sakura held Itachi's lung mold delicately, feeling dizzy from her previous jutsu. She placed the mold on her steel work-table, slumping into a chair after it was out of her hands. By completing her chakra mold, she would give it time to harden and settle before she placed the cells on it.

The next step, then, was to examine his DNA. Sakura groaned but got another sample of his cells in a Petri dish, carrying these to her other desk. She took a deep, calming breath and using a small amount of chakra, she slowly sent it through the dish, locating a single cell, and then slowly working her chakra through the cell and into its nucleus. Inside the cell's nucleus, she could feel the chromosomes. Using that chakra, she unraveled the chromosomes, finding the strands of DNA. She tugged and tugged on the strands, pulling them out and examining them with her chakra.

She became lost in her chakra and in the DNA code, examining and feeling out the mutations. Hours went by as she tediously went through this process and by time her chakra finally gave out on her, it was well into the night.

Sakura blinked, trying to become alert. Beside her, she had pages and pages full of notes over Itachi that she had taken while examining his DNA. Sakura knew she had to work tomorrow so she decided to eat something and go to bed. There was no sense in over-working her body. After all, it would take quite a while until she finished healing his disease.

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><p>It had been exactly eleven days since she had started healing Itachi. It had taken her eleven days to scan his DNA and figure out the mutated strands that had caused his autoimmune disease. On the twelfth day and into the thirteenth, Sakura was able to fix every strand and cure his disease. She used her chakra to manipulate his DNA back into its coils and then placed it in one of his cells. From there, she revived his cell and got it to reproduce, then got the next ones to reproduce, and so on, until Sakura had effectively covered her lung model in new lung cells.<p>

She placed the lung in a special fluid that was made from her chakra to allow the cells to reproduce and cover the lung which would eventually make Itachi's new lungs. Sakura took her new model of Itachi's DNA and using her chakra, she placed the new sequence in each of his cells, so that when they reproduced, they would not produce his disease. By this point, Sakura had completely drained her chakra. She slumped back into her chair, admiring her handy work and then realizing there was no noticeable difference on him.

"Soon enough, though, Itachi, you'll be ready," she told him, smiling. She was done for tonight since she had depleted her chakra, but tomorrow she could continue on. She would make new kidneys for him using the same process and finally restore his body to prime condition. Then the next day, she would begin to heal his eyes. Sakura grinned, calculating quickly. After healing him and transplanting his new organs in, which would take about a week, all she'd have left to do would be to find him some new eyes, which she thought she might be able to take a replica of Sasuke's eyes and use that as Itachi's model and make his own eyes. However, she realized it would probably be difficult to get it cleared by Tsunade to reexamine Sasuke's Sharingan without a legitimate cause.

She would work out those details later, though. She was excited- after she transplanted eyes in, he would be ready to start reviving. She would have to store up some chakra, which would probably take about two weeks, and then she could revive him.

"So close!" Her excitement leaked out onto her face, making her break out into a wide smile. After so many months (no, years) of working on this jutsu, it would finally come to fruition in less than a month. She was so close she could nearly taste it. This jutsu had become such an obsession to her in the past months that finally completing it and succeeding would be the ultimate relief and would send her back to a relatively normal life.

No, that wasn't true. Once she completed the jutsu, she would have to follow through with it and take care of her new patient: Itachi. He would be a permanent roommate of hers at least for a year or more. That was assuming he would agree to live with her so she could observe him. But really, what choice did he have? She was his ticket to living in the village and she was also his ticket to a home, food, and she would be his personal nurse. She was the best medical ninja in the world, besides the Hokage; really, he would be foolish not to live with her when she would, in a sense, be at his every beck-and-call to heal any injury or disease for free. Any skilled ninja would love their own personal doctor to come home to once they returned from a difficult mission. It meant not having to go to a hospital and filling out all the papers and all the other difficulties and annoyances that her patients complained about.

She grinned wider, looking over the elder Uchiha, brushing a strand of his limp, black hair from his face. "Soon enough, Itachi," she whispered, looking over his face. She couldn't deny how peaceful he looked and it almost made her hesitate to revive him. What if he didn't want to be brought back to life? Sakura really had no way of knowing since she had never actually known him in a personal way. But she was willing to gamble that everything would work out in the end.

"Goodnight, Itachi." Her voice echoed throughout the room as she flicked off the lights. There were only two words that echoed in her head as she drifted off to her bed.

_Soon enough_.

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><p><em>Part of the severe deterioration of the lung is due to the amount of fire jutsu that he used. It is possible that the overexertion from his Mangekyo Sharingan had caused his chakra paths to weaken thus meaning whenever he used a fire jutsu, the smoke could damage his lungs because his chakra was too far stretched to protect him like most chakra can. His kidneys were barely damaged and upon further examination, only partial scaffolds were needed as much of his old kidneys could be salvaged and restored with the correct mending techniques. <em>

_The nerves around his eyes still have to be healed before new replicas could be transplanted in. It should be assumed that the chakra pathways, if healed correctly, will reattach in the same way as before, thus restoring his eye capabilities to the same level as before. _

"Hey, Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Sakura's head snapped up at the voice and she shoved her notebook underneath another pile of papers, frowning testily at Naruto.

"I'd be wonderful if you learned how to knock before entering," she snapped, glaring. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, grinning. Sakura glanced wearily around the room, having realized that Naruto hadn't been the only presence in her office. "What are you all doing here? How long have you been here?" she asked with a bit of an angry tone. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her and Sai grinned.

"We only just came in, Sakura-chan!" Naruto told her, putting his hands up defensively. Sakura's eyes narrowed and she frowned. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" he repeated his earlier question. "You look tired or something."

"I am," she snapped, still irritated that they had interrupted her studies on Itachi and irritated that she hadn't noticed them come in for who-knows-how-long. She really hadn't been getting enough sleep if she couldn't even sense three other ninjas come into her hospital office in broad daylight.

"Maybe you should ask for some time off," Kakashi suggested mildly. Sakura shrugged, looking back down at her desk. She really hadn't been working long hours at the hospital.

"I'm fine," she told them. "Now, why did all three of you come in here?" Naruto's eyes sparked back up and he jumped up excitedly onto her desk, sitting much like a frog would.

"Wanna go on a mission with us? We need one more member!"

"No," she said flatly, looking away not wanting to see Naruto's crestfallen face.

"B-but... We could be a team again!" Sakura sucked in a large breath, trying not to snap or be rude, though her tired nerves were causing her great irritability with him and a lack of patience to deal with his antics.

"I have too much to do, Naruto," she said softly. She saw his shoulders slump and he backed off of her desk. "I'm sorry. I just went on a mission a few weeks ago. I'm not ready to leave so soon." That was a lie, Sakura knew. If she hadn't been healing Itachi, she would have jumped at this opportunity without hesitation. "I'm sorry," she repeated softly. "Another time, Naruto. Just not at the moment." Naruto nodded, mumbling something about asking Hinata, and walked out of the room. Sai followed him. Sakura's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her desk.

She realized Kakashi was still in the room, watching her. He approached her desk and she glanced up at him.

"They aren't aware, but I am," he told her softly. "I'm not sure what you're doing but I know you haven't been working extremely long hours at the hospital. I won't tell them anything but I know the symptoms, Sakura. Whatever you're doing, it's consuming you. Be careful. Obsession can be a terrible thing." Sakura felt her jaw clench and she looked away from her sensei's piercing gaze. "I won't investigate into it yet because I believe whatever you're doing, it's the right thing. You've never been like Sasuke; I know you're not doing something that would endanger someone else's life and I have a feeling whatever is consuming you so deeply is for another person. However..." he trailed off, looking away. Sakura glanced back up at him, her eyes worried and guilty.

"However...?" she prompted.

"However, if I start to suspicion something bad is going to happen, I will stop it. I'm giving you your privacy now, Sakura. You are an adult and I trust you to make wise decisions. But don't do anything dangerous, and that includes to yourself." Sakura bit her lip, looking back down at her desk. "Try to get some more rest, okay?" He offered a cheerful smile and a little wave, turning around to leave.

"Wait! Kakashi-sensei!" He stopped in mid step. "Please... don't mention this to the others. Including Tsunade-sama. I can promise you this, my intentions are good. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the end but I've worked so hard... I've done so much. But if Tsunade-sama knew, everything would be for naught. Please trust me, just a little bit longer. It'll all end soon. I promise." Kakashi gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

"I do, Sakura. I won't tell her."

"Thank you." He nodded and this time, he left, closing her office door with a quiet click that felt so loud in the resounding hollowness of the room. Sakura closed her eyes, her hands trembling. She only could hope that Kakashi was the only perceptive one and Tsunade or Shizune hadn't noticed what had been going on. She never realized how close Kakashi had been watching her. That what worried her even more. There might be more people watching and realizing what she was doing.

Sakura took a deep breath and knew she needed to kick the project into hyper drive before she was caught and forced to stop. She wasn't going to give up this far into the project. No matter what.

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><p>Sakura probed his body with her chakra, grinning as she realized all his organs were in perfect condition and had connected flawlessly with the rest of his body. She had examined enough healthy patients to know that Itachi's inner organs looked perfect and should work perfect. Taking her hands away from his chest, she sat back in her chair, grinning. He was almost complete.<p>

Sakura stood back up after a few minutes and ran her fingers over his torso, looking for any cuts. She had healed all of his major cuts and bruises from his fight with Sasuke but she decided she might as well re-examine him to make sure she had gotten everything in tip-top condition.

The first time she had stripped him down, Sakura had kept her mind strictly professional. This time, Sakura didn't strip him down completely, leaving his boxers on, but she didn't feel her mind was completely professional. At first, she was, finding any cut and healing it quickly. However, when she had stepped back to scan over him and make sure she hadn't missed anything, Sakura couldn't help noticing how extremely _attractive_ he was.

Sakura blinked, trying to stop her thoughts. She was sleep deprived. She was overworked. She was exhausted. That's why she was thinking about a dead body in a way Sakura knew bordered on necrophilia. She turned her head away from him, frowning and biting her lip. Even then, she couldn't help imagining his toned abs and his lean torso. Sakura swallowed, shaking her head violently. She redressed him quickly, trying not to let her fingers trail along his muscular legs as she pulled his pants back on. Or on his chest when she was tugging his shirt down.

"All right, I'll finish healing your eyes tomorrow!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing out of the room. She had never felt like that around Itachi and it made her very uncomfortable. She took a cool shower and went on to bed, hoping with some sleep, she wouldn't feel so attracted to him again.

Her dreams were filled with Itachi (a live Itachi, though) and they weren't her typical nightmares with him. No, they were the exact opposite.

_His black hair cascaded over her skin, providing a nice curtain. He lowered his face to hers, his rough hands holding her bare shoulders. She rose up to meet him, whispering a breathy, "Itachi," against his lips. _

Sakura snapped awake panting after her vivid dream was finished, trembling. She had never dreamed like that about another person. She had never had an X-rated dream like that. She glanced at the clock, seeing it was only 3:00 in the morning. She laid back down, closing her eyes and trying to go back to sleep.

If Itachi affected her this much when he was dead, what was it going to be like when he was alive? When he was there, breathing and speaking to her? There would be those times when they'd be living together that they were sure to have awkward moments. She might walk in on him changing. Or he might have to catch her from falling and hold her to his chest. Or she might cry and he would be there to comfort her. Sakura grimaced and turned her face towards her pillow.

She had never realized how complicated it would be with an actual male living with her. A living, breathing, highly attractive male living with her. But she had gotten too far involved to give up now and she definitely wouldn't. She would see this project out to the end; consequences be damned. She had come too far to think about the possible awkward attractions she might have to Itachi once he was revived. She knew that man's body better than he probably knew it. She wouldn't be losing all her hard work because of a silly attraction.

That thought comforted her and sent her back to sleep with considerably less dreams about Itachi.

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><p>She looked at all the notebooks and scrolls. They were stacked on her desk along with folders holding several papers. She had reviewed each one carefully; taken careful notes. She was ready.<p>

"One step left," she murmured to herself. Clutched to her chest were two notebooks containing everything she had ever done over Sasuke Uchiha's eyes. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to find an excuse to examine Sasuke's eyes again. She'd have to examine all the files she had placed in the Konoha Archive Library about Sasuke's eyes, as well. And that meant, she realized with a dry mouth, she'd have to go back into _that_ room. She needed to re-read those files on Sasuke's Mangekyo.

She hated that room with a fiery passion. There was something about that room that made her insides squirm and her blood chill. Just thinking about going back in there made her want to vomit. "For Itachi," she muttered, sighing in sad acceptance.

Everything she was doing had turned to be about Itachi. But as a medical ninja, she wouldn't give up when she was this close to saving a life. And she would save Itachi's life and give him the one he never had. That was what her goal was now.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p><em><em>This was a short chapter. Sorry. Next chapter will be longer, promise! Uhh... now, let's see... what am I supposed to clear up...?

1. Itachi's disease: Itachi's disease was based on an actual disease, called Goodpasture's Syndrome. I'm not saying that it _was_ his disease, simply that the disease I gave him was based off of that specific disease. I did research the disease intensely to understand everything I could about it. Many of the medical practices I described are based on some truthful ones that I have learned about. With saying this, there is still the element of fiction in this story due to Sakura's use of chakra. Sakura was only able to complete many of her techniques with the use of her medical chakra, like scanning Itachi's DNA, curing his disease, and regrowing his organs.

2. Sakura's medical jutsus: it has been several years since the Fourth Shinobi World War. Sakura has been able to develop several new jutsus, like the DNA one, the chakra scaffolds, and other ones. A lot of her jutsus, though she doesn't mention this, are still in testing. She does not use these on regular patients. Itachi is sort of her test subject for these jutsus as well, though she's considerably more experienced with these jutsus rather than her revival jutsu.

3. Itachi's preservation status: I tried to make this clear, but just in case I didn't get the point across, Itachi's body was preserved because of Madara needing to transport Itachi's body around so Madara could get his eyes. As reader's know, Sasuke received Itachi's eyes, but it was after much hesitation. During the time period of Sasuke hesitating (like, he goes off and fights Danzo, Team Seven, the Raikage before he agrees to take Itachi's eyes) Madara had to keep Itachi's body preserved, or at least his eyes preserved. Considering the fact that Itachi was taken after he died, then I figure it's extremely likely that Madara placed a preservation jutsu on Itachi's body to keep Itachi's eyes healthy and safe.

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter:<em>**

_Sakura must find some way to restore Itachi's eyes. But she has no idea where to start. There is no base to work with, no leads to where his eyes could have gone, nothing to tell her what to do. But if she can get his eyes back... Well, that's the final step of her healing process. She's so close to reviving him, she can taste it. _

**_Chapter Six: Eyes_**

The plot has become intense...!

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><p>Yo, I'm tired so I'm gonna end this chapter now and go to bed. Because I'm tired, I may not have caught all the mistakes. If there are any, be sure to let me know :D Oh, and if there are any questions, please ask! Much love to everyone who is reading! I'm so happy at the great response I've gotten for this story. You guys rock! All right, good night! :D<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Eyes

Sorry that this chapter is a bit late (I usually post on Saturdays, and it is already Sunday!). I was tired last night, and two paragraphs from the bottom of the page (I was editing again) I fell asleep lol. Oh, and I don't think I responded to any reviews this chapter. I'm really sorry for that, too. It's just been an off week, I guess :) I do read all the reviews and I appreciate them immensely! Thank you all for reading.

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><p>Chapter Six:<em> Eyes<em>

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><p>She had gathered all the files about the Sharingan from the Konoha Archive Library- all fourteen different files on the Sharingan or Uchihas that had mentions about the Sharingan. She held the files close to her chest and she closed her eyes, using her chakra to unseal the dark chamber hidden behind the wall. Sakura felt her mouth dry up as she passed through the entrance, the wall resealing behind her, letting the darkness suffocate her and submerge her into nothingness. She opened her eyes and murmured a jutsu for light; the little ball of blue chakra floated in her hand and she guided it around, scanning over the dusty scrolls and files. She walked cautiously, gazing restlessly over her shoulder, expecting at any time to be caught or something bad to happen.<p>

Her eyes skimmed over the scrolls, ignoring everything that didn't have to do with the Sharingan or the Uchiha Clan. Sakura didn't really feel like she was aware of what she was looking for, especially because she knew once she found the scrolls over the Sharingan, she'd have to copy it down quickly onto a blank scroll she had brought with her. It almost felt like she was working in a daze, sort of following her instincts and not really focusing on what she was doing. Finally, she found the long scroll titled _Sharingan_ and Sakura's breath hitched in her throat, as she came out of her daze. She picked up the scroll and unrolled it, slowly sending her chakra over the ink. She let her chakra trickle down the length of the scroll, siphoning the chakra onto her blank scroll once it had covered every inch of the writings.

This was a technique she had taught herself after becoming annoyed with having to rewrite medical sentences and her signature over and over again. It was also developed to help Tsunade and Shizune in their paperwork. The jutsu was relatively simple: she sent a molding chakra over a layer of writing and the chakra would copy and duplicate the indentations of the writing and form the words and allow it to be placed onto another blank substance with the words perfectly intact. This also helped for deciphering things in invisible ink or old, faded documents.

Sakura looked at her newly duplicated scroll and took a relieved breath, the icy cold fear that someone was going to catch her duplicating a secret scroll, or worse, the scroll would have protections on it from being duplicated, gone. But neither had happened so Sakura pocketed her new scroll and scanned over the other scrolls again, making sure she hadn't missed any other scrolls on the Sharingan.

There were a few documents, she found, on Kakashi's eye and the story of how he retrieved it from an Uchiha named Obito. Sakura did copy down the workings of Kakashi's eye, hoping it might be able to help her with Itachi's eyes. She scanned around the room one more time, seeing nothing else of interest, and looking down at her files, finally figured she had gotten as much about the Sharingan as she could.

She left the room quickly, ever too happy to be out of the strange darkness the room encompassed. Once out of the room, she leaned against the wall, taking mouthfuls of the library air. She felt as if that room had cut off all the regular air and only provided damp, musty, dark air. She looked around her, seeing no one in sight, and then quickly left the library, poofing away to her home as soon as she hit the outside air.

At her desk, she spread the files around, a notebook placed in her lap and her pen tapping her cheek. She studied each file, making notes and more notes and more notes; pages upon pages were filled. She sketched out the eye shape, made notes about chakra pathways and their relations to the Sharingan, made elaborate conjectures about what she would be able to do for Itachi's eyes and how she could repair his eyes, and made little notes about certain areas she found odd in the Sharingan.

After three hours of studying, she finally stood up stretching her arms. Sakura sighed, looking over at her bookshelf and walked tiredly over to it, scanning her medical books for one about eyes and their functions. She found two large texts that would have information about eyes in them and then another smaller text that was only about eyes. She carried those in one arm while she continued to scan her plethora of medical texts, looking for a few books about chakra pathways and how they intertwined at the eyes, as well as a few texts on nerves and some on the brain and sensory input. By the time she had finished gathering what texts she wanted, she had nine large volumes of books and three smaller books that she carried to her desk, dropping them beside the desk.

Again she sighed, taking a deep breath at the amount of books and notes and scrolls she had piled on and around her desk. This was definitely the largest project she had ever undertaken- reviving a person. She was absolutely insane. She should have just confessed as much to Kakashi and let him deal with her. But, insane or not, she had gotten too far into this project and she wouldn't give up so close to the end. After all, it couldn't be too hard to make brand new eyes, could it?

It probably wouldn't, except she was making brand new Sharingan eyes. That was nearly impossible. Sakura gave a frustrated groan, pulling out one of the large texts she had and opening it up, flipping through the silky, smooth pages until she found the chapter on eyes. She would spend most of her night, and weekend, reading.

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><p>On Monday morning, when she pulled herself from her bed and dragged herself back to the hospital, she felt utterly worn and frustrated beyond belief. The entire weekend, she had done nothing but pour over texts about eyes and nerves and Sharingan. Sakura realized she could easily tell someone every single part of the eye and what its function was. But it still hadn't gotten her anywhere. She couldn't even make a basic scaffold to put eye tissue on because she had no model. No matter how many times she had tried to craft her chakra in a certain way, it all ended in failure.<p>

"Sakura-sama, these are the files for today. We have quite a big load today." Sakura glanced tiredly at the nurse, nodding and taking the stack of manila folders that seemed to hold endless amounts of information that she knew she would have to read over and decipher. "Also, Sakura-sama, Tsunade-sama informed us that she got word that quite a large mission has ended in failure and that the casualties will be nearly endless. She said the ninjas coming here will be nearly thirty, assuming they all survive the trip home. She wants you to organize a medical team to go out and meet the ninja- she's hoping you'll be on that team. She said Shizune-sama already went out ahead of everyone to help with what she could."

Sakura groaned, nodding, wondering if it could get any worse. And it could.

"Also, Sakura-sama, we are painfully understaffed today. Four of our nurses called in sick, three are on missions already, and we have two others that are forced to take off because they worked all weekend. We've already called the ones that were off duty today and told them to come in." Sakura sighed, placing the folders on a desk beside her. She realized today she'd have to put all thoughts of Itachi to the very back of her mind and focus back on her job.

"Okay, call in the ones that called in sick. We're a hospital; we'll heal them. Flu, illness, whatever, get them in here. The other three on missions can't be helped. The two that worked all weekend, call them back too. I'll pay them double but we need them. Tell them to drink lots of coffee and try to take a few naps in the lounge room. Search all other files for any other nurses. I want every nurse or anyone with any medical training in my hospital as soon as possible." The nurse nodded.

"Furthermore, I'm going to take Ino with me to meet these men. I'll take a few other medic-nins and we'll try to heal as many as we can and stabilize them enough to get them back here. Before I leave though, I'll ask Tsunade-sama to come here to help deal with the influx of men when they come." Sakura took another deep breath, glancing back at the folders. "Before I leave, while I'm waiting for Ino and the other two I'll take (I think I'll take Iyashi and Hosho with me) I'll work on some of these files and distribute them to nurses the best I can." The head-nurse nodded, waiting for further orders. "Get someone to send out orders to Ino, Iyashi, and Hosho to meet me here within the hour. Go quickly now!" The nurse nodded and sped off.

Sakura sighed and slumped against the wall. She took about a minute break and then gathered up her folders, knowing she was pressed for time. She rushed quickly to her office, opening the folders on the desk. The patients flooded her brain and she got out a scratch pad, writing quick notes. Within fifteen minutes, she had the entire schedule for the twenty-two patient folders she had been handed. She rushed it out to her nurse station, all the gossiping nurses quickly snapping to attention at the sight of their boss.

"Here's what we're going to do," Sakura spoke in a hurried voice. "This is the list for the nurses who will have what patients. I want all these taken care of before the squad of men come- meaning work your butts off! If you don't, your job is on the line, understand? I don't want any breaks or rests until these patients are sufficiently taken care of and happy. I have six patients I'll take care of before I leave. You guys start working now. No slacking off if you want to keep your job!" Sakura whirled around and the nurses could tell by Sakura's no-nonsense tone that she was serious.

Sakura worked faster than she was used to in the next thirty minutes. She usually stuck around to chat with patients but today she couldn't; she apologized and set straight out to do her duties. Two patients she was able to discharge quickly and the other four she rushed to fix. Bed sheets needed changing, bandages needed re-wrapping, nasty burns needed to be healed, poisons needed to be extracted... She worked her butt off trying to finish all the six patients off.

She was on her sixth patient when a nurse came to tell her that Ino, Iyashi, and Hosho had arrived and that they were ready to depart. Sakura nodded and finished healing the man's burns, re-wrapping them tightly. Saying a brief farewell, she jogged out of the room, nearly running down the stairs to meet Ino and the other two medics. They greeted their superior and Sakura grabbed her medical pack, strapping it around her waist.

"Ready?" They nodded. She nodded back and the four rushed out of the hospital. "We have to stop by Tsunade-sama's office to get all our information." They rushed to the Hokage's Tower and Sakura jumped through Tsunade's window, not caring that she interrupted Tsunade's meeting with Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru. All three of them stared at the pink-haired medic, not used to seeing her in her medical uniform outside of the hospital. She ignored all of them, focusing on Tsunade.

"I need coordinates of the ninjas' location and I wanted to request that you go to the hospital to help prepare the medics for our return." Tsunade nodded.

"Of course. And they are at 49 S and 3.5 E, twenty-three leagues from the shrine down south." Sakura nodded slowly, having a general idea where the ninjas were located. "They should be closer than that by now, though." Sakura nodded again. "Hurry now. Save as many men as you can."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama." And without a glance back, she took back off through the window.

* * *

><p>"Ino, give him three doses of the vial I have in my pack!" Sakura shouted orders, though her eyes never strayed from the man in front of her. "Hosho, get the man to the left of me! He doesn't have long left!" Sakura pressed her hands harder onto the man's chest, pumping her chakra into him as fast as possible. "Iyashi, you're going to have to heal that wound on his leg! It has poison in it! Hurry now! Before it spreads or before we have to cut it off!"<p>

"Sakura-sama, more ninja are coming after us!" A Konoha ninja reported to her. "What do we do? We have more injured than we have people able to carry." Sakura frowned, finishing healing the gaping wound in the man's chest.

"We need to get as many able-bodied ninjas to surround us. Gather all of the wounded into one spot! Now!" Sakura didn't stop from her own duties, going over to heal another patient. This one was only a chuunin and she looked extremely young, though vaguely familiar. There was no time to recognize her though, so Sakura pressed her hand onto the wound in her neck, healing chakra flowing into the wound and rapidly closing the skin and the wound.

"Sakura-sama! We're nearly out of time!" Another ninja yelled to her.

"Shizune! I need you to come here now!" Sakura called, glancing up at her dark-haired mentor. She rushed over, taking over Sakura's position of healing the girl. Sakura pulled out her black gloves from her pack, walking to the front of the ninja. She hadn't fought in a long time and was probably a bit rusty, but she knew by displaying her super strength, it would probably ward off the incoming ninja.

"What rank are our enemy?" she asked a nearby ninja.

"Chuunin and jounin. More jounin than chuunin!" Sakura nodded calmly. She waited until she could see the ninja begin to appear in the nearby trees.

"Back up," she told her men lowly. They nodded, hesitantly, but followed her orders. Sakura took a deep breath and slammed her fist down into the ground. It split, large rocks and boulders rising out from the ground, spiking through the ground like a fissure. Trees were uprooted and she heard the gasps and exclamations of the enemy ninjas.

"Is that the Hokage?" she heard someone yell from the enemy ranks. "It's super strength!" "We're dead if it's the Hokage!" "We better flee!" "Hurry, hurry!" Sakura took another deep breath and hit the ground again, harder this time. More trees were flipped and turned from their roots and within no time, the enemies were fleeing.

"We retreat now!" Sakura yelled. "Gather as many men as you can! Leave no one behind! Hurry!"

* * *

><p>She was covered in blood. Her face, her hair, her clothes, her arms, her hands... every part of her was soaked in crimson. It was well into the night and she had finally gotten the chance to rest. She was exhausted and her hands were sore from the overuse of chakra. Sakura didn't even care enough to rinse off; she was so tired.<p>

Walking into the nurse's lounge, she saw several nurses passed out on the couches and on the floor. Others were hovering around the coffee machine, desperately trying to stay awake. Sakura sighed, seeing no empty spaces to rest.

"Sakura-sama, how many have died?" A nurse piped up from one of the tables. Two other medics on either side of her were asleep on the table. Sakura shook her head, shrugging.

"I have no idea. I haven't been able to check and get an accurate count. We've had too many close calls. I've heard too many 'we've lost him!' and too many 'we've got him back!' to really know what is what. I'd like to say we haven't lost any but I'd be foolish to assume as such." Sakura shook her head. "Shizune and Ino are taking care of what they can. I'm going to rest for a few minutes and return."

"Sakura-sama, you're chakra is severely depleted," another nurse told her. Sakura nodded.

"I know. But I have to save these men's lives. It's my duty." The nurse shook her head and Sakura noted that it was one of the older, experienced nurses. "Do you disagree with me?" Sakura asked softly.

"No. I think what you're trying to do is honorable. Truly, Sakura-sama, you are one of the kindest souls alive. I only fear that you may be in over your head. I wish that you could know when to quit and just rest. Your body's needs should come before others." Sakura smiled, shaking her head softly.

"I've been told that before. And I used to do that- whenever I got tired, I'd quit. But I realized that by always quitting, I was never pushing my limits and therefore never getting better. That's why I do what I do: to get better. I won't ever give up and I won't kill myself by working too hard. But I will do my duty to the best of my ability, and the best of my ability is when I've nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Until I reach that point, I haven't done my best work." The other awake nurses nodded, amazed at their boss's devotion. All they could think was that it was no wonder she was the boss and leading medical ninja in the village (besides Tsunade) and practically in the entire world.

Sakura turned to leave the room. "Where are you going?" One of the nurses asked her. Sakura shook her head tiredly and responded with, "My office," before leaving. In her office, Sakura slumped in her chair, resting her head against her desk. As she closed her eyes, sleep filtering into her body, she felt like there was someone standing over top of her. Her eyes opened half-way and she saw the man who haunted her dreams and free time standing over her desk.

_"You're doing a fine job," _he told her. She shook her head lightly.

"What about your eyes?" she asked, even though she could see the ruby orbs in his face. He gave a small smile and she felt like he had touched her head, pushing back a strand of her hair. "I don't know what to do," she whispered to him.

_"I gave them to Sasuke." _Sakura shook her head.

"Madara took them," she whispered. "His... his chakra." She felt like Itachi was touching her hair again. Playing with a strand of her hair.

"_I gave them to Sasuke," _he repeated. Sakura glanced up at the ghostly image of Itachi, shaking her head, still not understanding. _"I gave them to Sasuke." _He smiled at her, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. _"You'll understand later, Sakura. Just remember: Sasuke. I gave my eyes to Sasuke." _

"Sasuke..." she mumbled."He has your eyes?" Itachi nodded. "Sasuke..." Her eyes slid close again and she felt him stroke her head.

_"You're doing a fine job, Sakura. A fine job." _She smiled at his praise, figuring it couldn't come easily. _"A fine job, Sakura... Sakura..." _

"Itachi... Itachi..."

"Sakura?" Sakura opened her eyes, glancing at the clock and realizing she had fallen asleep for about an hour-and-a-half. Ino was shaking her awake. "We need you back in the emergency room. Immediately. We're losing a lot of them. Shizune can't do it anymore. Tsunade-sama is trying her best, but we're all tired. Can you help?" Sakura nodded, standing up, trying to focus on the room. The two women walked down the hallways, walking as fast as they could. "You know..." Ino began, hesitating. "I heard you. You were dreaming... about Itachi. That's not normal, is it?" Sakura wanted to tell her that yes; it was a recurring theme of many of her dreams. But she figured that conversation wouldn't end well.

"I did? No, I don't think I dream of him a lot," she lied. Ino nodded, opting to end their conversation as they walked through the emergency room doors. They both fell back into their jobs, focused on the patients in front of them.

Still, Sakura couldn't help but have her mind wander back over to the dream (when she had a few seconds to think about something other than the patients in front of her). It was the most vivid and realistic dream she had ever had. She could have sworn Itachi truly was in the room with her. Sakura never had been one to believe in ghosts or spirits or communicating with the dead, but again, Itachi was making her bend her own rules. She _felt_ him there with her. Maybe it was her exhaustion that made it seem like he was with her; that's what she could hope.

Of course, whatever had happened, she at least now had a lead to his eyes that she hadn't thought about before. Sasuke may know what had happened to Itachi's eyes, after all, Sasuke was the last person to see Itachi alive; and yet Madara was the one who had removed Itachi's eyes. There had to be something that Sasuke knew about the entire situation. And maybe Sasuke's eyes truly were Itachi's. Sakura wouldn't know unless she could speak to Sasuke one more time.

"Sakura! Two patients over here need you!" Tsunade yelled. Sakura realized that she had been lost in her thoughts for too long and had nearly been idle for almost a minute. She rushed over and went back to the endless healing that never seemed to improve. There were still so many to heal. Sakura wouldn't stop, though. She would heal these ninja until she collapsed. That was her duty.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked tiredly, seeing her mentor stop in the nurse's lounge. Tsunade looked as worn as Sakura felt, as worn as all the nurses felt. Two days without rest and constant healing had made them all irritable.<p>

"I've got to go back. I'm sorry Sakura. I've been away too long from the Hokage Tower. I've got to go back and do my job." Sakura nodded, sighing.

"It's fine. Thank you for everything you have done, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade nodded and turned away. Sakura took a sip of her coffee, the only tool (besides soldier pills) she had left to keep her awake and functioning after two days of minimal rest and with the over-use of chakra.

"You've done great work these past two days, Sakura," Tsunade told her walking out. "You'll do fine." Sakura nodded because she knew Tsunade was right. She would do fine on her own. She always had and always would. "You've saved more men than I expected. I'm proud of you, Sakura."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. But it's not over yet. I won't let those that have died, die in vain. I will save the rest." Tsunade smiled and nodded. "I will never give up." Sakura finished drinking her coffee and stretched. "I've got to get back to work. Excuse me." Sakura threw away the paper cup and walked out behind Tsunade, turning the opposite way of her mentor to head back to the emergency room. There were still so many injured ninjas to save and Sakura wouldn't return home until all of them were stabilized.

After all, Sakura couldn't focus on the dead until she finished saving the living.

She plunged back into the chaotic room, rushing from one person to another. She had realized a long time ago that she stopped feeling her fatigue when she immersed herself in her work. With her mind focused on healing, she couldn't feel her exhaustion. Ino had always told her that she admired her for that- for the fact that Sakura could always finish what she started without ever feeling tired mid-way through and giving up. Sakura had replied that it only applied to healing and saving other's lives. She admitted that she could never be as great a ninja as Ino was on the combat field.

Once upon time, she had wanted to be the best in every area. But Sakura had come to realize how far-fetched that dream was. It was much more practical to apply herself fully to her best skills and hone them to near perfection. That was why she was considered the best medic in the world, excluding Tsunade. But even now, Sakura wondered how much better she had become compared to her mentor. Sure, her mentor was superbly stronger than her and had come up with quite a few revolutionary medical techniques, but Sakura had too.

It was Sakura that had figured out how to use her chakra to make scaffolds of organs and take dead cells and regenerate them and place them on these scaffolds to make brand new organs. It was Sakura that had learned how to search through a person's DNA code with her chakra and heal certain codes that caused genetic disorders and diseases. It was Sakura that had learned how to pinpoint the smallest amount of poison in a body and amplify it to make an antidote. It was Sakura that had learned how to read through chakra pathways and manipulate a person's chakra to heal their own internal wounds. It was Sakura who had come up with the newest, most revolutionary medical jutsus.

Yes, Tsunade had been the base that Sakura had worked off of. But Sakura was going along her own path and she felt like she was far succeeding Tsunade, especially considering Tsunade hadn't made nearly as many medical jutsu as Sakura had at Sakura's current age. Soon enough, Sakura would go down as the best medical ninja in history.

Sakura wiped her brow, grinning. Her hands were covered in blood but she had saved the girl's life. Shizune glanced over and nodded and Sakura. Sakura gave her own grin back, slumping back against another bed.

"We've only lost two patients out of the thirty-three we received. And seven patients have already been discharged while another four have been moved into regular hospital rooms. And eight more are going to move into new rooms after today."

"Twelve ninjas left to save then." Shizune nodded. "Let's get back to work then. I want our death count to stay at two. We've come too far to lose anyone else."

* * *

><p>"Sakura-chan!" Sakura's head snapped up from her desk. A paper that stuck to her forehead slowly peeled off and fell down. She blinked a few times and sighed, seeing Naruto's blonde hair come into focus. "We just got back from our mission! Can you check us out?" She groaned and wiped her eyes, frowning testily. The first real nap she had had in nearly five days and Naruto interrupted it.<p>

"We've heard about what's been happening here," Kakashi spoke up from beside her office door. "Tsunade said that you had to deal with over thirty ninjas from a failed mission. She said you've been working non-stop. What's happened?" Sakura shook her head, standing up.

"Take off your shirt," she told Naruto grumpily. He obliged, still grinning. "I'm not sure exactly what the mission was. I never bothered to ask. All I know is that on Monday morning, I got to the hospital and had to organize a team to go out and meet that team half-way to stabilize as many men as I could. Shizune had already been sent out. The enemy nins pursued them and I scared them away by splitting the ground a few times. They thought I was Tsunade-sama so they fled.

"We got the men back and the entire hospital staff has been working religiously to try and save these men and women. We lost two out of the thirty-three people recovered but three of the thirty-three we saved aren't going to be able to fight and be a ninja ever again. One was paralyzed from the waist down; another ended up losing part of his leg; a third suffered horrendous brain trauma and can no longer function without the aid of others. It's been rough."

"Five days you've been here, Sakura-chan?" Naruto clarified. Sakura nodded, healing a few minor scratches on her friend. "Aren't you tired?"

"More than you could believe, Naruto." She slapped a bandage on his back and then thrust his shirt back at him. She turned her head to Sai and gestured for him to come in front of her. He stripped off his shirt as he walked and she began to scan his body for injuries.

"I'm impressed, Sakura. Shizune tells me that you've still been able to rotate the schedule enough so that most of the nurses were able to go home and rest for a day or so. Even Ino and Shizune haven't stayed here as long as you have. You've worked hard. People are praising you all over the village." Sakura shook her head, healing a cut on Sai's stomach.

"We've stabilized them. I should be able to go home tonight finally." She handed Sai back his shirt and then gestured for Kakashi to strip off his shirt and flak jacket so she could heal him. He ignored her. "Kakashi-sensei, strip. Now." Her irritable tone made him undress reluctantly. Sakura healed two cuts on him and then waved him away from her. "Where's Hinata?"

"She went home," Naruto replied, frowning. "Something about checking in with her father. She seemed really worried." Sakura shrugged, turning around, heading back towards her desk, but stopped midstep.

"Hanabi," she whispered in horror. "Oh God, Hanabi was on that mission." Sakura turned back towards the other two. "I remember healing a young chuunin girl and thinking of how young she looked. Hanabi is right around fifteen now, right? And she always looked much younger than she really was. She never had Hinata's voluptuous figure. I healed the wound in her neck."

"You didn't recognize her?" Kakashi asked softly. Sakura shook her head.

"I wouldn't have recognized anybody. For all I know, I could've healed Kiba, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Gaara, Sasuke... anybody on that mission and never have known who it was. Too much blood and I was too busy to focus on who I was healing. Sorry. I just remember Hanabi because I remember thinking how young she was. For all I know, it might not have been Hanabi. It might have been some other chuunin girl. I have no idea." Sakura sighed and sat down on her desk, looking at her three teammates. "You should go check on her, Naruto." He nodded.

"Yeah, I will. I better go. See ya around, Sakura-chan." Sakura nodded and Naruto left, Sai following. Kakashi stayed behind, reading his book, waiting until the other two shut the door. Sakura sat back on her chair and waited, knowing Kakashi wanted to talk to her privately.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her, finally closing his book. Sakura sighed, leaning back in her chair. "You're exhausted, that much I can tell. I felt like you were pretty tired before all this happened. How are you?"

"I think I've reached the point where I've become used to an hour of sleep per day along with the use of extreme amounts of chakra. I don't know how I'll go back to being normal after this. I'm scared I'll collapse on my bed and won't wake up for a week." Sakura sighed. "I've been able to run home once a day on my lunch breaks to go feed my dog. Monday night I didn't get to go home. Tuesday, I finally got a chance to sneak out quickly and feed him. He's probably starving and dying at my house and I don't even know." Sakura sighed.

"You have a dog?" She nodded.

"A few months now. I saved him. He had been injured and I revived him." Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

"Revived?" Sakura looked down at the desk, fumbling for her words.

"I'm trying to become a better healer. I have to start small, I suppose." He nodded, understanding. "By the way, Kakashi-sensei, how's your... ...well... no, never mind. It's nothing." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged. "I think after I finish this healing, I'm going to go visit Sasuke. Remind myself why I'm a healer."

"Because of Sasuke you heal?" Kakashi asked, getting ready to leave. Sakura shrugged and gave a half-nod.

"Originally, yes. I wanted to show him I was good at something. Not just annoying. But over time, I trained for myself. Still, I enjoy seeing how his path took him down the wrong road and how mine took me down the right one. It encourages me." She gave a grin and Kakashi shook his head.

"You're not nearly as kind as everyone thinks."

"No, no I'm not."

* * *

><p>"Sakura." Sakura gave a small smile, though it wasn't for pleasantries. Sasuke looked up at her, even more shocked when she opened his cell door and stepped into the room. "What are you doing?"<p>

"I want to check something," she told him softly. "I've been going over my notes of your Sharingan and something doesn't add up. So hold still for a second." Sakura placed her hands on his temples, feeding her chakra into his eye nerves and chakra pathways. She grinned, shaking her head. How could she have missed something so large? Itachi, or ghostly Itachi, had been telling her the truth. Sasuke's eyes were not truly his eyes. The nerves around Sasuke's eyes were slightly frayed and reattached, as well as his chakra pathways having Madara's chakra mark throughout it.

But the eyes had a very similar chakra type to Sasuke and since transplanting organs was more common between brothers, Sakura could safely assume that these eyes were Itachi's. After all, it explained why they were nearly impossible to tell that they weren't Sasuke's eyes. Sakura had only realized it because she was looking for the differences.

Her chakra changed for a different jutsu and it began to trace his eye shape. She engraved the shape and figure of his eyes into her chakra. To save the form, she took out a small blank scroll, and placed the chakra patterns on the scroll, watching as the bright green chakra faded away, leaving nothing behind on the paper. This jutsu had actually been developed by Tsunade and taught to Sakura- it was used to keep certain chakra patterns safe in a scroll to study later, especially when a healer is in the field and needs to keep something safe for later.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice was irritated. Sakura shushed him, threading her chakra throughout his eyes and trying to engrave the unique chakra pathways of them into her mind.

"I need an eye cell," she told him.

"Why?" Sakura grinned and shook her head.

"Research." Without warning, she poked her finger in Sasuke's eye, applying small amounts of chakra and removing a small cluster of cells from his eye. She placed the cells in a vial she had with her, placing a cap on the vial. "Hang on, this may hurt a bit." Sasuke was frowning and looking as if he was getting angrier by the second, which only served to amuse Sakura even more. She placed her finger over his eye, gently placing her fingertip on his eye and filtering her chakra into his pathways. She could get a much better view this way compared to any other way. She closed her eyes, studying every unique detail of his eye shape.

She also rechecked to make sure he couldn't access his Sharingan or any other eye technique. She had nearly severed his chakra pathways to his eyes, thinking that without chakra, he couldn't access the Sharingan. Sakura noticed they were re-healing slowly but she knew that she had also put a disabling jutsu onto his eyes, so that he couldn't gather chakra in his eyes even if his chakra pathways were to heal completely. Sakura re-strengthened her disabling jutsu and against her will, she decided not to re-sever his chakra pathways. That, she knew, would take permission from Tsunade to do.

"Sakura! What are you doing?" Sasuke snapped at her. Sakura withdrew her hands, watching as Sasuke rubbed his eyes. Sakura sighed lightly, looking down at her vial of Sasuke's eye cells.

"I was checking the process of my jutsu and making sure you still couldn't access your Sharingan." Sasuke glared, looking up at her. "And I was re-checking some other things in your eyes," she answered vaguely. He caught her vagueness and glared even more.

"You're not making any sense to me," he muttered. She looked up at him, grinning slightly. "I don't understand you," he muttered. "I've been thinking about it for weeks now. You hated me. Despised me. But now, all of a sudden, you're coming in and asking about my brother. Then you come in today and mess with my eyes. You're up to something, Sakura, I know it. I know you." Sakura laughed, rolling her eyes.

"You don't know me at all, Sasuke. Please don't insult me by saying you do. And furthermore, you may be right. But I won't tell you anything until the time comes. You'll know and understand eventually." He clenched his hand, glaring at her.

"Are you trying to replicate my eyes?" he asked lowly. "Because I'm the last Uchiha? You have to reproduce my eyes to implant them into other ninjas so they can gain my abilities? You saw how well that's working with Kakashi. He doesn't have the same natural ability as the Uchihas have, and he was a prodigy in his own right." Sakura nodded.

"That may be so. But there are always ways of working around natural ability. Believe me, I should know after being on that team with you guys. I was the only one who didn't have anything special going for her. I rose up through the ranks with hard work and what little talent I had. I didn't have a clan bloodline to fall back on, or a giant fox sleeping in my stomach, or born into prestigious families that have amazing abilities. I'm just me. Any ability I have is through what little talent I had and honed and trained with. And that's why I'm in a much better position than you, mister go-out-and-have-Orochimaru-train-me-to-be-more-powerful. That sure worked out well, huh?" She was definitely mocking him as well as leading him on a false trail. Sakura grinned and turned away, leaving Sasuke's cell.

She was glad that he believed something starkly different than what she was actually trying to do. There was some truth in her reproducing his eyes, but it wasn't for other ninjas to use. It was for his own brother, who had already given his eyes to Sasuke. Sakura was merely trying to return them back to their rightful owner.

* * *

><p>She had gotten enough eye cells to reproduce Itachi's eyes. Sakura grinned triumphantly, looking down at Itachi's body. She placed her fingertips on his temples, filtering her chakra into his chakra pathways around his eyes. She took the scroll with the stored chakra blueprint of Sasuke's eyes and slowly morphed her chakra into a mold to fit within Itachi's chakra pathways and nerve endings. Sakura let her chakra travel up his nerve endings, watching as they connected back to his brain. She could analyze each area of his brain, making sure all of it was still funtioning.<p>

Sakura withdrew her hands from his head, getting her vial of cells and creating a scaffold of Itachi's eyes by using the chakra blueprint from the scroll, placing the cells on the scaffold. She concentrated, using her chakra to speed up the growth and reproduction of the cells. It took a few hours, but she watched as Itachi's eyes were slowly created in the palm of her hands, forming and molding to fit right into his eye sockets.

Focusing, she placed the newly made eyes into his eye sockets, taking her time to carefully attach each nerve and chakra pathway correctly. She guided her chakra to help re-attach all of his pathways carefully, healing the frayed ends from Madara's chakra and soothing Itachi's eyes into healing and working. It took many hours of careful work, but Sakura was thrilled as she could watch and feel Itachi's eyes reconnecting with the rest of his body and his brain, slowly working like they were supposed to.

When she finally withdrew her hands and chakra from him, she could tell it was late into the night. She felt exhausted, but comparing it to the hellish week she had had, she wasn't too bad off. Besides, it was only Sunday night and she had the day off in the morning (Tsunade was rewarding her for her hard work of the mission. She was able to get both Sunday and Monday off. It had been amazing to sleep for hours upon hours) so she wasn't too concerned.

Anyways, adrenaline was pumping through her veins as she looked at Itachi's nearly perfect body. He was healed, at least to the extent of Sakura's knowledge. She wasn't too sure if she had cured his disease (but she had to trust in her abilities and believe that she had), she wasn't too sure if his new lungs would work, she wasn't too sure if his eyes would work, and most of all, she wasn't even sure if she could revive him. Having been in the science field and medical field for so long, Sakura had learned to rely on numbers and percentages and probability. She knew the likelihood of all of these variables in Itachi's body to come out positive and work would be very unlikely. She figured in all reality, the outcomes of everything working perfectly would be less than ten percent.

Sakura had come too far to give up now, though. Itachi had taken up nearly two months of her life and the revival jutsu had taken up years of her life. Sakura knew that she didn't have very many hobbies anymore- her medical research had overtaken all of that. But she had the strangest feeling that she had overtaken Tsunade in terms of best medical ninja in the world. Tsunade had never figured out a way to comb through a person's genetic code and check for mutations that would cause diseases, and then use chakra to manipulate the DNA into changing and fixing itself so the genetic disease would go away. Tsunade had never figured out how to re-heal a person's limb or organ by using old, dead cells and reviving them and then making a brand new organ or limb.

No, Tsunade was great, but Sakura knew she was greater. She had surely surpassed her mentor. Tsunade was amazing with her medical techniques, after all, Tsunade was the one who had made it possible to store chakra in seals and release it for the rapid healing of cells and re-growth of cells. But Sakura took Tsunade's jutsus to places beyond that of which Tsunade had even dreamed of. Eventually, Sakura would be remembered as the greatest medical ninja to have ever lived.

It just had to be that way. She was so close, and if everything succeeded, Sakura would assuredly become the best healer in history. After all, she would do the one thing no one else could- she would revive the dead completely and without the use of sacrifices.

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

* * *

><p>Oh, geez, I feel bad about this chapter. It's only about eyes :O But at least now the healing is finally complete on Itachi? Heehee :D So, time for clarifications!<p>

1. The coordinates Tsunade gave to Sakura. I have no idea how to write ninja coordinates. So I made something up. I think this was how they did coordinates in Dragonball Z or something. Oh, and a few sentences before that, there was a mention about Sakura's medical uniform and that the men were shocked to see her outside of the hospital in it. I think I mentioned in like chapter three about how her medical uniform is comprised of a short-ish skirt or something, but she always covers it up with a jacket- well, she didn't have the jacket on, so that was why they were surprised to see her out and about in the outfit.

2. Ghostly Itachi: sorry to burst your bubble, but it was all a dream :) Sakura dreamed the entire conversation- a spiritual Itachi wasn't actually there playing with her hair. But Sakura was probably having one of those really lucid-like dreams where you are aware of everything (or think you are) and you dream about stuff that you hear and the stuff you're thinking about. Everything is sort of confusing once you wake up and you're not sure what's real and what's not lol. Either way, though, Itachi did lead her to Sasuke's eyes, so you can decide whether or not that's fate or divine intervention or just a weird dream. I'll leave it up to you to decide :D

I feel like there was more I wanted to say here, but I can't remember. Uggh, I hate it when that happens.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>_

_It's time. Everything is ready and she can begin the revival process. Itachi __will be revived. But with only a ten percent chance of success means a ninety percent chance of failure. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again..._

_**Chapter Seven: Failure**_

The Itachi Revival arc is coming to an end...! _**  
><strong>_

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><p>Thanks for reading! I know this is moving along slowly, but it will pick up... well, actually, it'll pick up by then end of next chapter ;) Thank you all for reading and thanks for all the reviews! I appreciate all the comments and favorites and alerts and everything else :D I'm always elated when I open my inbox and see new messages for this story. It makes my day :D Thank you guys so much!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Failure

Hey, I'm posting this a few hours early, cause I love you all so much! :D This is one of my favorite chapters, too. Heehee ;D

Oh, and I'll have a note at the bottom of this chapter explaining a poll on my profile that I'd love for everyone to vote on! It's in regards to this story. So please read the note at the bottom for an explanation :) Thanks so much for reading!

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><p><span>Chapter Seven:<span>_ Failure_

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><p>Sakura knew he was ready. She knew it as much as she knew she was doing the right thing in reviving him. She had gone over his body in a full scan, searching every pathway and crevice and nerve ending, six times in the past week. She had fixed anything and everything she had missed, and she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. She had to begin the process of storing chakra for the jutsu and preparing him for the revival process.<p>

The first thing she had to do was increase the amount of chakra stored in her. Tsunade had taught her the Yin-Seal Technique and Sakura, like her mentor, always had one chakra seal on her forehead to use at any time she needed to heal herself. But, unbeknownst to her mentor, or any other person, Sakura had also placed two other Yin-Seals on her inner wrists to store chakra.

Looking at them, Sakura knew there was no way she had enough chakra stored to revive Itachi. She had only had the two on her wrists for a little over four months. The one on her forehead hadn't been used for a few years, so Sakura knew she had enough chakra stored in there. Thus, Sakura realized there was only one thing to do. She would put off reviving Itachi for another two months, so that for each month, she could meditate every night and store enough chakra in each of her seals. This way when she'd perform the revival jutsu, she'd have enough chakra to actually revive him.

It annoyed her to have to wait so long but Sakura was willing to wait and prepare so she could perform the jutsu successfully on the first try so she wouldn't have to redo the process, thus taking more time and more chakra and more effort. Besides, she tried to think optimistically, with the two month waiting period, maybe she could possibly rest up and have a social life again. Taking on a few more missions wouldn't be too bad. She wouldn't mind doing that. Of course, with missions, that meant expending more chakra, so maybe not.

No matter. She would figure out what to do in the days to come. Anyways, maybe it would be nice to take a break from healing night and day. Kami knew she needed a break, after all. She would just learn to deal with the lull and enjoy it as best she could. After all, as soon as she revived Itachi, her life would dramatically change- hopefully for the better.

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><p>"Heiwa! Come on! Let's go for a walk!" Sakura waited at her doorway, shifting from foot to foot. "Heiwa!" Her trustful companion had yet to respond to her calls, unnerving Sakura. She waited a few more seconds and then went to find him. She checked through the rooms, finally spotting him in her bedroom. He lay pathetically on her bed, his tail thumping weakly. "Heiwa?" He looked up at her pitifully and lay back down. She rushed to him, running her hand over his fur. Her chakra automatically filtered through his body and she realized with horror that it seemed like her revival jutsu was fading from him.<p>

"No, no, you'll be okay," she whispered. Her hands pumped in a bit of chakra, making it flow through his pathways. She wasn't sure what to do with him but she just did what her gut told her, which was to keep healing and pumping in chakra. It was slow and tedious; Sakura wasn't sure if it was working, even. But finally, Heiwa's tail began to thump again. Sakura put a little more chakra into him and her dog opened his eyes, letting out a small bark.

Sakura finally withdrew her hands from him, taking a deep breath. It worked. He was still alive. Despite the fact that she should be happy she had saved him, Sakura could only feel deeply unsettled. What made Heiwa's revival jutsu fade away? What would have happened if she hadn't found him in time? And, more than anything, what did that mean for Itachi if she were to revive him? Sakura wasn't sure what any of it meant, but she knew she would still have to continue monitoring Heiwa, and more than that, Itachi, once he was revived.

With a feeling of apprehension, she slowly stood back up, deciding that she would just have to write down exactly what had happened in her notes, just in case she would have to review it later on. She would do a thorough exam on Heiwa later and add whatever additional information she could into her notes. Sakura knew that whatever had happened was more than likely to occur again, but whether it would be Heiwa or Itachi, she wasn't sure.

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><p>"Sakura-sama, are you okay?" Sakura blinked, looking up at one of her nurses. She nodded, rubbing her eyes. The nurse frowned, looking at her boss, but finally nodded, handing Sakura a stack of reports. "These are some of the files for today. Also, a lot of these are the annual reports of the nurses. Tsunade-sama said she'd like you to look over each report and look over the nursing staff for evaluations. She said that it's time to promote or fire some of the nurses, and that the nurses need evaluations." Sakura sighed, nodding. "Tsunade-sama also sent a message that said she'd like to speak to you later today."<p>

"Okay," Sakura agreed, rubbing her eyes again. "You're dismissed, Lia." The nurse, Lia, nodded, exiting Sakura's office. Sakura finally let out the groan that had been bubbling up ever since Lia had given her the folders. She hated this time of the year, hated reviewing the nurses, and hated reading their reports, and definitely hated evaluating the nurses.

_Well_, Sakura thought, _at least I'll be able to store up some chakra_. She looked at the tall stack of folders and amended her thought.

"A lot of chakra," she told herself, shaking her head. It was going to be a long week.

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><p>Sakura had been right in the thought it would be a long week. Tsunade had told her that she wanted Sakura's reports compiled quickly and accurately; told Sakura that unless there were dire cases, Sakura was to leave all patients and healing to the nurses. Sakura was to work on the nurse reviews solely and not stop until they were finished. So, Sakura worked, night and day, on those blasted reports. She worked from nine 'o'clock in the morning until seven 'o'clock at night. She would take a break every so often to get something to eat, and maybe run home to check on Heiwa (who had seemed to recover completely and with no signs of dying any time soon).<p>

But, after five days of constant work, Sakura had finished. She looked proudly of the files compiled on her desk, smiled at her neat and professional handwriting marking each review, and felt smug at the fact that she had been able to review over one hundred nurses and medical ninjas in one work-week. It had been a good week.

"Sakura-chan!" Well, it _had_ been a good week. Sakura groaned, looking up at the yellow-haired ball of energy. She just knew he was going to do something to ruin her papers. Protectively, Sakura placed her hand on the stack of papers.

"Hello, Naruto," Sakura responded, watching him carefully. "Where's Kakashi-sensei and Sai? They always seem to tag along with you when you decide to interrupt my work day." Naruto pouted, springing up to sit on her desk. Sakura expected the movement and swiped him back with her free hand, sending him sprawling to the ground. "I don't think so. I have important papers up here that I've just spent the last week working on. Stay away from my desk," she growled. Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly, nodding.

"Kakashi-sensei is... Well, I haven't seen him in awhile. Sai is out drawing or something at the bridge." Sakura nodded. "But I came here to talk to you, actually. You know how a few weeks ago, Hanabi was on that mission with all those ninja you healed?" Sakura slowly nodded, the event coming back to her mind.

"Ah, yeah. I remember. What about it? Is Hanabi okay?" Naruto nodded, though she could tell he seemed almost upset at something. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, after Hanabi was released from the hospital, she became fretful with her training. She's been training ever since, often to the point of collapsing. Hinata's really worried. We're not sure what to do. And their father doesn't seem to be too concerned. I dunno, Sakura-chan, is there anything you can do? Can't you like order her not to train so much?"

"I already told her to take it easy. But in all truthfulness, Naruto, no I can't do anything. Once she's been discharged from my hospital, she's out of my control."

"I figured you'd say something like that," Naruto sighed. "Well, it was worth a try! Hey, how about we go to Ichiraku Ramen tonight? I feel like we haven't hung out in forever!" Sakura, feeling wonderful from completing her reviews, agreed, surprising Naruto.

"Sure! I have to drop these folders off at the Hokage Tower first, but then we can go." Naruto nodded, offering to walk with her. Sakura gathered up the papers, following Naruto out. They fell into easy conversation on the way to the tower. It didn't take long for Sakura to deposit the papers on Tsunade's desk (her mentor was not there, so she left a note explaining what the files were) and Sakura walked back out with Naruto.

"So where is Hinata?" Sakura asked him, as they approached Naruto's favorite ramen stand. Naruto gave a half-shrug, too distracted with the sight of his favorite place to answer. They sat down and ordered before Naruto finally answered her question.

"She went out on a mission with Shino and Kiba, for old time's sake. She left earlier today." Sakura nodded, muttering a "thank you" when her bowl was set down in front of her. "I'm supposed to get another mission soon; tomorrow or the next day, I think. But I don't get to pick my team. Neji happened to mention it to me because he said he was going to pick me on his team. So I guess Neji is the team captain."

"You can't always be the leader," Sakura put in. Naruto nodded.

"I know. I just feel like I should get as much experience as possible. But, then again, Neji is on the way to being the top ANBU captain. He's really strong." Naruto frowned, looking down at his ramen. "I mean, really strong. Can I let you in on a little secret?" Sakura nodded, looking over at him. "Hinata-chan, despite everything that has happened between her and her father, is still going to be named clan leader once we get married. They're more accepting of me since I am going to be the next Hokage, you know? So, they think it'll look really good for the Hyuuga clan if their leader is married to the Hokage. That's why they're allowing Hinata to still be the leader, instead of Hanabi.

"Well, Hinata-chan knows this and sort of resents it. Not because she's jealous of Hanabi, which she used to be, but more because they are putting the reputation of the clan above who would be best for the clan. That's why, once she becomes clan leader, she's going to do away with the whole Main/Branch family thing. She's already developed a jutsu to counteract the seals so that it'll disappear from their skins and so that the Branch family won't be harmed by it. And then..." Naruto trailed off, grinning.

"And then...?" Sakura prompted.

"She's going to make Neji the clan leader. She's going to make him take it! Isn't that great?" Naruto nodded. "He is the best suited for the job, after all. He's easily the strongest Hyuuga." Sakura grinned, shaking her head. "Oh, the clan will be furious with her. But, really, what can they do? She'll be married to the Hokage, so it's not like they can go complain to me. So they can try to complain to the council, but since I'm putting Shikamaru and Kakashi on the council, who will be there to support them?"

"What if Neji opposes the decision?" Sakura interjected. Naruto slurped some of the noodles down, nodding.

"We thought of that. So Hinata is slowly bringing the subject up to him. He's... well, I think he's warming up to the idea. A little. We still have a few years, though, before she enacts the plan." Sakura laughed, nodding.

"I'm just glad you're thinking through something for once." She took a bite of her own noodles, amused as Naruto sputtered his protests.

"I've changed!" She nodded, her grin expanding.

"I know. I'm complimenting your change. It's a good change. You've matured," she teased, gently hitting his arm. Naruto smiled at her, though his eyes lost some of their mirth as he looked at her. His smile faded until it was just a wistful upturn of his mouth. "What?" she asked him, concerned at his sudden change of emotions.

"I'm not the only one who's changed, Sakura-chan. You've changed too. A lot," he murmured. "I mean, I know you were bound to change- we've all changed since we were sixteen. Don't get me wrong. But I think you've changed the most." Sakura shook her head, denying his claims.

"No, no, there are certainly others that have changed more than I have. Look at Hinata." Naruto shook his head again.

"That's not exactly what I mean. Hinata-chan has changed a lot, I agree. But... you've changed in dramatic ways. I hardly... hardly recognize the girl from my team so many years ago. You're so serious now, Sakura-chan. So devoted to your job and studies. You have no time for us, for your friends, anymore. I understand why you dislike Sasuke. That's fine. He did hurt you. I don't resent that at all. But... but... there is a fire in your eyes to do... to do something, and I don't even know what it is anymore!"

"I want to heal, Naruto," she told him quietly. "That's all I want to do anymore. I want to heal and save lives. I'm not a killer, not a fighter, like you or the other ninjas. I can't be like that. I'm a healer. I've never been good in battles, even as a young girl. I've tried. I've tried to convince myself that I could fight and battle with everyone else. That's why I trained and honed the super-strength skills Tsunade taught me. But I concluded that I'm not that great a fighter. Why waste my time on skills I'm not going to get better in? So I focused solely on medical training."

"You are a great medic, too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto acknowledged. She smiled, thanking him. "But... but... don't you think you should try to have a bit more fun sometimes? I mean... what's the good at being the best if there is no one left to share it with you?" Sakura looked down, his words ringing in her ears. He did have a point. She had been so driven that she had been pushing away all her friends. But that was also partly due to the fact that she was storing a criminal's dead body in her house. A certain criminal that may have killed his entire clan (ordered to or not, he still did it) and may have just happened to be an S-ranked criminal. That did make Sakura a little more hesitant with inviting friends over to her home.

"I'll try to be more social. I promise. I've just... I've been working on a new jutsu," she confided, "and I'm really close to getting a breakthrough in it. I think it might work. That's why I'm so... so obsessive and reclusive now. I'm sorry, Naruto. I know I've been refusing all your requests for missions and for hanging out with you. I'll try not to. It's just... with the jutsu and the hospital, I'm so tired anymore. I don't know what to do." Naruto nodded sympathetically. He did understand wanting to complete a new jutsu. How many times had he pushed away Hinata when he was determined to make a new jutsu? Several, he was sure.

"I can understand that," he told her, smiling. "So I won't take it so hard anymore. But... will you do me a favor? Can I be the first to know when you complete your new jutsu?" Sakura smiled.

"I promise you will be," she told him, wondering in the back of her mind if she was lying because she knew in all actuality, it would be Itachi who knew about the jutsu first. But since he was part of the jutsu, she just figured it didn't count. He grinned his traditional grin, giving her a thumbs up. She returned his smile with a softer one, turning back to her ramen.

It was nice to be away from her home and to be socializing again. It helped her escape Itachi's haunting presence in her home. A few more weeks, though, and she would be ready to revive him.

_Just a little bit longer, Itachi. Just a little longer... _

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><p>There was nothing left to do. She was ready. Sakura took a deep breath, looking at the scrolls she had prepared for this moment. She hefted Itachi's body up, pulling him into the middle of the floor, where her chakra seals marked the floor. She laid down five scrolls, surrounding his body at all points. There was one scroll at his head, one at each arm, and one at each leg. He looked like a five-pointed star, with lines and markings softly glowing with the chakra surrounding him.<p>

Sakura unrolled each scroll, looking at the large open circle in the middle of the scroll. All it needed was her blood and chakra mixture to release all the symbols and writings she had sealed within it. She had completed the jutsu enough times with her animals. The rats, mice, fish, birds, dogs, Heiwa... It was ingrained in her head what to do. But there was a considerable size difference between a dog and a fully-functional human who had been dead for over five years.

That's what the scrolls were for, though, she told herself. And the extra chakra seals on her wrists. Sakura bit her lip, closing her eyes in concentration. She took a deep breath, opening her eyes and looking at Itachi.

"Let's do this, Itachi." Sakura used her chakra to make a scalpel and cut her hand open. She slammed it down on the first scroll, closing her eyes as the scroll lit up, previous markings glowing as her blood and chakra mixed in with the scroll. A light shot out from the circle, bleeding onto the seals around Itachi's body. It continued to flow, finally gathering on his body, making his arm glow. Sakura quickly moved to the other four scrolls, repeating her actions. Each scroll worked successfully, finally making all the seals around Itachi's body glow, and in turn, making him glow.

Sakura took her place next to his body, placing her hands on his chest. She closed her eyes and began to pump her chakra into his body. It was not easy, trying to stimulate his cells into coming alive. She tugged and pleaded using her chakra, finally getting the cells to obey her wishes and reproduce.

Sakura felt her chakra pouring out of her at a rapid rate, filling each crevice of Itachi's body. Every cell in him was alive with Sakura's chakra. She could feel the two chakra seals on her wrists activating, giving her more chakra to stimulate his cells.

Her fingers burned, feeling as though she was melting into his body. Sakura pressed on, pushing her chakra into his body. As the burning feeling increased, Sakura finally realized something was wrong. She opened her eyes, seeing the entire room glow bright green. Itachi was glowing just as bright, as were Sakura's hands. At first, she couldn't understand what was wrong.

And then she realized. Itachi's body was starving for chakra, since he had not produced any of his own for so many years. The intense amount of chakra was causing some type of odd reaction between them, likely due to the fact that he had not had so much chakra in him in so long. As quickly as he was sucking it in, it was also burning away. Or more like, gathering into a short fuse.

Sakura could see what was going to happen. Not only would he suck her chakra dry, there would also be an explosive combustion of sorts between their chakra. The more she made his cells work, thus the more chakra they began to produce, the more Sakura's chakra clashed with Itachi's. Furthermore, she had a feeling he wasn't going to wake up or start breathing anytime soon. Her seals and chakra just weren't working- not well enough to get his soul back and fully revive him. Her chakra just wasn't converting into the life force needed to revive him.

She wasn't sure what to do. Her hands were burning more and more and she knew she wasn't accomplishing anything. As she made her decision to stop, she realized it was too late. Her eyes widened as she saw the burst of light from where her hands were placed on his body. The seals around his body burst with the same light, exploding around the room. The explosion of light was forceful- Sakura was thrown away from Itachi's body, hitting the wall, cracking it.

She opened her eyes, barely conscious, seeing the seals dim and the light recede from Itachi's body. She raised a hand to her head, feeling the blood begin to gather at her fingertips. Sakura didn't care though- she didn't have enough energy or chakra to heal herself. Her hands were burning, anyways.

She slid down the wall, knowing that she had failed.

_Failure..._

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><p>When she finally came around, Sakura had a bitter taste in her mouth, and a rock in her stomach. She felt miserable. Her muscles ached from the extreme use of chakra, her head pounded, and she just hated the feeling of failing. It made her feel like she was twelve years old again; a time in her life she never wanted to return to.<p>

Sakura slowly stood up, feeling no motivation to place Itachi back on his bed. She didn't want to clean up the seals or scrolls. She didn't want to fix the wall or the bloodied knot on her head. She just wanted to go take a shower and cry.

She leaned down, going to pick up Itachi, but as she touched him, he shocked her. Sakura supposed that their chakra still wasn't mixing properly. Fine then, she decided. She would leave him there until later, when she more mentally capable of dealing with him and the entire jutsu again.

Failure... It crept over her like a black shadow, filling her every thought. She hated it. She hated the taste of it, hated trying to pick herself back up from it, hated having to move on and admit her mistakes because of it.

Sakura stumbled into her bathroom, stripping off her clothes. She stepped into her shower, turning on the spray at full blast. Cold water blasted her first, but it slowly heated up, steam filtering around the shower. Sakura slumped to the floor of the tub, bringing her knees to her cheek. The blood washed out of her hair, whirling down the drain. She watched the milky red, wishing that failure would wash away the same way. Tears filled her eyes and she let herself cry, not holding them back.

She felt so awful and miserable. So many weeks of preparation. All the storing of chakra. All the healing and the reviving animals. All the work she had done for the past three years... all of it, gone. Shattered, broken, destroyed. She had failed. All that work was down the drain. What was left? What could she do? She had a dead body in the middle of her floor, a crap ton of notebooks filled with useless notes about a revival jutsu that just wouldn't work, and a raging headache-stomachache-everythingache that wouldn't go away.

Sakura cried harder, wishing she knew what to do. Heiwa's almost death had been a sign- a sign of failure. Everything she had worked for... everything... failed. Failed. Failure. She was a failure. No wonder Tsunade had never attempted what she was doing- she had the foresight to know it was pointless and impossible. Who did Sakura think she was? Able to revive the dead. Pfft, Sakura wasn't so great. She couldn't do that. She was just a joke.

The water turned into a lukewarm spray, slowly turning colder. Sakura paid it no mind, too lost in her own self-pity, until the freezing droplets hit Sakura's shoulder blades, shocking her out of her tears.

Why was she looking at this in this way? Sakura looked up, wiping away her tears. No, no, she couldn't give up like this. This wasn't the way to go. She did have three years of work behind her. Three years of solid work. She wasn't going to give that all away. Sakura had been successful so far. This was just a challenge she needed to overcome.

Just like Heiwa's almost death. _Almost_ death. Heiwa didn't die. The jutsu had succeeded; Sakura had succeeded.

She stood up, shaking her head. Sakura wasn't going to give up so easily. One set back. It just meant she had overlooked something. Did something wrong. A few more weeks of storing up some more chakra and looking over what had happened would make the next time smoother.

No, she had come too far to just give up. Too far. She would revive Itachi if it was the last thing she ever did. No matter what the costs were.

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><p>"Sakura, your reviews were immaculate. Wonderful job; they were precise and exactly what I wanted." Sakura nodded tiredly at Tsunade. "We're going to go ahead and give you a five percent raise from last year considering your excellent patient rate and the high success rate for nearly any situation."<p>

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Sakura knew she should be more excited but she was still tired from the revival jutsu she had performed on Itachi the day before. Besides, even if she had convinced herself that she would continue the jutsu, she was still bummed at failing.

So despite being exhausted, she had laid awake all night thinking about what had went wrong with the jutsu. She had several theories at what had went wrong, but not enough time to test them or look over what had happened to the jutsu and Itachi.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Tsunade asked her. Sakura was going to nod, but finally decided to be honest. No, she wasn't okay. She felt awful and would have called off work today, except Tsunade had left her a message that she needed to see Sakura first thing in the morning.

"No, Tsunade-sama, I don't feel too good. I had a rough night last night. I think I may be coming down with something." Tsunade nodded.

"Go ahead and go home and rest. You've done wonderful work this past year, Sakura. I'll have Shizune do the oral reviews for the nurses today. Take a few days off, okay? You deserve it. I'm very proud of you." Sakura smiled, feeling much brighter than she had all night and morning. Tsunade's words had cheered her up considerably.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. Thank you very much. I owe it all to you." Sakura smiled softly, looking up at her mentor. "I never... I never would have gotten as far as I have without you. I owe you everything, Tsunade-sama."

"You've been my best student, Sakura. I'm proud to be your mentor." Tsunade smiled gently at the girl she thought of like a daughter. "Now, go home and get some rest. I'll expect you back at the hospital in three days, okay?" Sakura nodded, grinning at Tsunade's formal tone again.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama!" And with that, she left the hospital, looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

At home, she slept for hours. More than hours- she slept from the morning of that day into the early morning of the next day. When she finally opened her eyes, feeling much better, it was already four o'clock in the morning.

Sakura swung out of bed, showering and dressing. She had to go down and finally clean up the room with Itachi in it. Then she would have to examine what went wrong, fix the problem, and work on making new seals and scrolls for the jutsu. It would be a long day, but she was determined. Sakura would not let all her work go to waste!

She walked downstairs, making a cup of hot chocolate before she went to see Itachi, and finally walking to her jutsu room. Itachi still laid where she had left him; seals were still marked around the room; scrolls were still unrolled and marked with the smear of her blood; and the wall was still cracked. Sakura sighed, deciding she would deal with the wall at a much later date (if she even did anything about it at all), and kneeled down to Itachi. She gently touched him, and there was no shock or burning sensation like before.

Sakura heaved him up, slinging the man over her shoulder with the aid of chakra. She deposited him back on the bed. Then she collected her scrolls, rolling each one up. She deposited those on one of the counters in the room. Finally, she kneeled on the ground, gently touching the seals. They responded to her touch, glowing pale green. She made a few hand signs and the seals began to morph together, the chakra flowing back into Sakura's body. They left a nasty imprint on her floor, though, which she knew she would have to mop up.

Groaning, she went back to her kitchen, retrieving her mop and a bucket of water, trudging back down to the room. She mopped quickly, scrubbing the seal debris with the mop. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to erase all the traces of the seals, but finally, her tiled floor was back to looking spotless. The only thing still wrong with the room was the cracked wall, but again, Sakura was determined not to acknowledge it until she had fixed Itachi.

Finally, she turned her attention on the dead body that had been residing at her home for several months. Four months, Sakura told herself. Four months she had been hiding his body in her home. Well, there was no way she was going to wait another two months to restore her chakra. She had enough chakra left in the Yin-Seals that she would put off reviving him for a month, at the most. It was time to get the dead alive again. She was beginning to feel a little too much like one of those weird necrophilia people that stole dead bodies and kept them in their houses for years. Granted, she didn't love Itachi, nor did she rob his body for strange and creepy reasons, but still. Having someone dead in her house for so long was pretty strange.

Sakura shook her head, placing her hands on his chest. She meditated, letting her chakra flow through his pathways, evaluating her work. His cells were still reeling from the effects of her chakra, and beginning to produce some of his own chakra. Some still divided, despite the fact that Itachi was dead. His chakra pathways, though, were stable. Not a problem in any of them. Not even around his eyes. That made her wonder, then, where the problem came from between the two chakras.

She sent some of her chakra into his body, some actual healing chakra, monitoring how his chakra reacted towards her. It was as if his body had adapted some sort of immunity from other's chakra. As if he made his own chakra fight against enemy chakra.

_Leave it to Itachi to train even his chakra to fight against others. _

Sakura sighed, knowing that she could infuse some of her chakra with his, thus allowing his chakra to recognize her signature and accept it. She usually did that with most patients, but she had figured his body would have recognized her chakra considering it was infused in so many of his cells and organs already. But she let some of her raw chakra fuse with his, her chakra acting like cool water to a raging inferno. It coaxed and calmed Itachi's still unstable chakra, making it twist and mix with Sakura's chakra. With a few more doses of her chakra, his chakra was able to recognize her signature, letting her chakra pass through his pathways unobstructed. It almost seemed to welcome her chakra into his body, ushering it through the pathways. That encouraged Sakura, since it meant his chakra reacted well with her own.

Now, the next problem was to determine why she couldn't actually revive him. She could stimulate his body enough to function, yet she knew there would be nothing there. It was like an empty shell- no conscience, no personality, no soul. That was the problem- she wasn't sure what to do about it, either. How could she get him back? His essence, the very being of Itachi Uchiha? That was her next difficulty, and no matter how long she stood there, pumping in chakra, she wouldn't have a breakthrough.

Sakura sighed, removing her hands from Itachi's body. It was back to her desk, back to her notes and scrolls. She would solve this mystery and get back to reviving Itachi.

_Looks like another month of desk work. Back to the basics! _

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><p>It had been exactly three weeks and one day since her attempt to revive Itachi. She had six days before her self-imposed month time limit was reached. But on this third week and one day mark, Sakura had finally done it. She had figured out how to morph her chakra into a sort of life-force. In reality, it was chakra that called upon the souls of the dead. She would pump this chakra back into Itachi's body, and once his body recognized the type of chakra, it would retrieve his soul. All in all, the chakra was the same type of chakra Kabuto or Orochimaru or Chiyo would use to call upon the soul of the person they were restoring. Of course, another soul would have to be transferred in exchange, which was where Sakura's chakra differed. Her chakra had the appearance of life force, so when Itachi's soul was to come back, her chakra would take its place. At least, that was what she hoped would happen.<p>

It took an immense amount of chakra to fool the other worlds, Sakura was sure, so she had added one more Yin-Seal, this time to the outside of her hand. This chakra seal was special, though, as it only contained Sakura's special life-chakra. It took quite a few days of extreme meditation to make enough of it, but Sakura had effectively converted a good chunk of her chakra into this life-force chakra that was then stored into the Yin-Seal.

Sakura was sure that her jutsu would work now. It _had _to work. She had reviewed her scrolls and seals, increasing the strength of both, and modifying some things. All in all, she had vastly improved her jutsu, she was sure of it.

She took her time preparing the room for Itachi's revival. She marked the chakra seals on the floor carefully; made sure the scrolls were perfect; and finally made sure Itachi's body was still accepting her chakra (it was). Due to the half-complete production of his cells, Sakura knew her revival jutsu would take less chakra than before.

This time, she would take her time in reviving him. Hours or days, it didn't matter. Two days after her month deadline, Sakura was ready to revive Itachi. She had taken off five consecutive days of work, citing fatigue, and wasn't going to stop reviving Itachi until he was up and breathing and speaking.

It was time. Sakura knew this would work. It would work. It was going to work! She activated her seals, Itachi back in the middle of the room, the five scrolls surrounding him like before. Again, she cut her hand and pressed it to her scrolls, watching them glow and begin to work. Again, she took her place like before, placing her hands on his chest and beginning to heal. Again, again, again. It was all going the same, except this time, the outcome would not be failure.

Within three hours into the process, Sakura still had not felt any of the burning sensations like before. As she watched his cells begin to reproduce on their own, his own chakra reserves steadily rising, Sakura activated her newest Yin-Seal, transferring in the life-force chakra. It was the scariest feeling ever, as she felt like she was floating between dimensions. Her chakra, and in a way, her own soul, felt like it was being tugged back to the Other World. Sakura pumped more of the chakra in, feeling a gentle breeze pass her as she fought off the strong pull from the Other World.

It was almost a battle. Sakura finally put out as much chakra as she could, activating her other three Yin-Seals to give her enough chakra to come back into the real world. With one last pull from the Other World, and in turn, one last push from Sakura, she was released. It was like being thrown back from an explosion- Sakura jolted back in her real body, panting. Her chakra momentarily faded, as she tried to stay conscious. _Just a little more. We've come so far. Don't stop now! _

Sakura returned to healing him, her chakra immersed in his body again. And for the first time, she didn't feel like she was healing a dead corpse. No, for the first time, she could feel the life in him. The gentle breeze that had passed her during the spiritual chakra battle had to have been Itachi's soul returning to his body. It had worked. She was alive and he was slowly coming back.

She healed for a little while longer, her chakra checking over every crevice of his body, finding nothing wrong. Her chakra helped coaxed his chakra into working and flowing, as well as coax his cells into working and reproducing. It helped to start his heart and his brain, sending neural impulses back through his nervous system. She felt around for brain damage and found everything working as it should be.

When Sakura finally withdrew herself from him, she was exhausted. Glancing at the clock, she realized she had been healing him for twenty-five hours straight. The life-force chakra must have taken up nearly seventeen of those twenty-five hours. She was utterly exhausted, too tired to even stand up.

But upon glancing down, she saw something that thrilled her beyond belief. Itachi's chest was moving, air filling his lungs. She waited a few seconds, waiting for the most important moment.

And then it happened. He moved, slowly coming out of his heavy state of unconsciousness.

The long black eyelashes slowly lifted.

Jade met black.

He was awake.

_Success._

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Guess who's alive? I love the ending of this chapter. It's one of my favorites compared to almost any other chapter I've written so far.<p>

There isn't much to explain, I don't think, in this chapter. I'll try my best, though.

1. Heiwa's almost death: Sakura still doesn't know what happened to Heiwa. She has a general idea, but nothing too conclusive. There will be more elaboration on this in later chapters.

2. Sakura's life-force chakra: Well, this was based more off of Chiyo. She was able to transfer her life-force chakra, or something like that, to Sakura to keep Sakura alive at one point. Because Sakura hadn't died, though, Chiyo didn't die either. Sakura has expanded on this concept to create her own "life-force" chakra, which is like a replacement for a soul. So, in essence, she used this chakra to trick the Other World in order to get Itachi's soul to return. Confusing, confusing, I know. XP

3. Sakura's epiphany in the shower: The cold water sort of shocked her out of her self-pity. It was the literal shock to her system that made her get her head on straight. You know how, sometimes, when people are freaking out and panicking, someone will toss cold water on them, or slap them, to get them to come back to their senses? That's what happened to Sakura with the cold water.

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>_

_She has done it. She has revived Itachi Uchiha. Now all that is left is to see how her new patient will react to what she's done and what has happened. Of course, there is always the issue of if he really does want to be revived. And how, on earth, can she explain Itachi's presence in her home without revealing all she knows to Konoha? What exactly can she tell Tsunade and Naruto? There are so many problems to work out that Sakura doesn't even know where to begin. _

_**Next Chapter: The Experiment**_

__The Second Identity arc starts next chapter...!

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><p><strong>Hey, a new poll! Please read :D <strong>

So, I've made a new poll on my profile and I'd really like everyone's input. The poll is: Should there be a sequel to Second Chance (as in, this story)? I know we're only on Chapter Seven, but drafted, I have up to Chapter Sixteen ready, and I'm working on Chapter Seventeen. The reason I'm putting this poll out so early is because I need to know by Chapter Twenty-five, which is the final chapter of this story, what to do.

You see, one of my reviews mentioned that they would love to see this story continued and a sequel written. Well, originally, I had no sequel planned. I had the story ending completely at Chapter Twenty-five, no doubts about it. This idea was going to be over and I would move on to other projects and whatnot. But, I'm not going to lie, I love writing this story. It's been one of the most fulfilling and downright fun times I've had in fanfiction writing, and well, I've been doing this for over five years, so for one story to be so enjoyable, well, that's saying something. I also love this idea of Sakura reviving Itachi, and there is no way I'm going to write another story with the same premise but a different plot, unless it was continuing what I've already written.

With that said, I really want your guys input! I may enjoy writing a sequel, but honestly, I don't want to write one if it's going to suck or no one would want to read it (I always feel like sequels are worse than the original story). So, I have a vague idea of what I want to do if I do end up writing a sequel, but I need to draft it out and plan and everything else. Like I said, I had been writing on this story for over a year before I posted anything. Meaning, the earlier I have a clear cut idea of what people want, the earlier I can release a new story; or the earlier I can end this story and be done with it.

Thus said, the poll will close once I am finished drafting Chapter Twenty-Four. The ending I have planned for this story won't work if there is going to be a sequel. So by Chapter Twenty-five, I have to have a clear idea of what I'm going to do- either changing the ending, or leaving it the same. If there isn't a response to my poll, then there won't be a sequel. I can't give a definite date when the poll will close- I suppose whenever I finish drafting Chapter Twenty-Four, and right now I'm only on Chapter Seventeen. So you have at least two months, likely, before the poll closes :D

Thank you all for reading! Please vote on the poll, even if you don't review :) And even if you do review, and maybe tell me whether or not you'd like to see a sequel, still make sure to vote on the poll. I'm going to go by poll numbers :) Thanks again!


	8. Chapter 8: The Experiment

Yay! The chapter everyone has been waiting for. This entire chapter is nothing but Sakura and Itachi. Hope you enjoy :) 

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><p><span>Chapter Eight: <span>_The Experiment_

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><p>"Itachi Uchiha," she greeted him. Her exhaustion had faded briefly due to her excitement at her success. She had just revived somebody without the use of a sacrifice! It took him a few seconds to register his surroundings, and she saw him blinking, trying to remember.<p>

"What's going on?" he finally asked. "I know you... We've met before." She nodded, recalling the time she, Kakashi, Naruto, and Chiyo had come across him before they had rescued Gaara. That was over six years ago.

"We have. My name is Sakura Haru-"

"Haruno," he finished, nodding. "You're Naruto-kun's teammate. The Fifth Hokage's pupil." He closed his eyes. "What is going on?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked him in response. He opened his eyes, looking at her. Studying her. He had to realize that she was considerably older from the last time he saw her. Her hair was slightly longer, her face more mature, her body aged. He had to be able to tell that years had gone by. He also probably picked up on the signs of her exhaustion- the sweat, the sagging posture, the tired eyes, the dark bags underneath her eyes, the worn smile.

"I remember fighting Sasuke. I remember touching his forehead. I remember thinking that it was finally the end; that everything was over." His eyes had closed again. "I was dead," he told her. She agreed, nodding.

"You were." She placed a hand on his shoulder, making his eyes glance wearily at her. "It's been over five years since your death, Itachi-san. I can fill you in on as much as you want. Where do you want me to start?"

"How am I alive?" She nodded.

"In these past five years, I've trained considerably. As you said, I am the Fifth Hokage's pupil. I'm considered one of the best, if not the best, medical ninja in the world. I've made more revolutionary medical jutsus than anyone else, besides Tsunade. I've honed my skills to the top. Due to this, I have pursued a great dream of mine: to revive the dead without the use of sacrifices. I worked for three years on the jutsu, and through incredibly lucky circumstances, I stumbled upon your body. Your body had been preserved in death, thanks to Madara Uchiha, and so I took you back home with me, without anyone knowing. I've been healing you and restoring your body to perfect condition for the last five months."

"You revived me from the dead? You revived the dead?" She nodded, biting her lip.

"In all truthfulness, I'm not sure how practical the jutsu is. It took me five months to restore you, as well as the fact that it took four chakra-storing-seals to revive you, five scrolls, and a giant seal. But yes, in all terms, I did indeed revive you from the dead." He nodded, thinking about her words. She was expecting his next question, and was not disappointed when he said the three letter word.

"Why?"

"Why you? Why did I choose to revive an S-ranked criminal, who massacred his entire clan, ruined his brother's life, and is a hated enemy of Konoha? The same man who targeted my best friend in hopes of removing the Nine-Tailed fox from within him, ultimately meaning that he would die? The same man who put my sensei in a coma after he used his feared Mangekyo Sharingan on him? Why did I bother to restore life to someone that I should despise and want dead?" Itachi nodded. "Because I know the truth, Itachi-san. Because I found something a little over seven months ago that completely warped every image of you in my head. I found the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. I know that you were ordered to do it, to kill your clan. I know that you... you were only doing your duty to protect the village." She looked down, her hand gently brushing over his. His eyes flickered to her hand, watching her movements carefully, finding the appendage harmless as it dropped to the side of her leg. "You... you are incredible," she whispered, looking up at him. "I've thought about that for the past seven months. Thought about how much you shouldered, everything you went through. You are the ultimate shinobi, but you never got the credit you deserved. The honor you deserved. I revived you to offer you a second chance." Itachi listened to her story silently, finally nodding at the end of it.

"I appreciate your hard work, Sakura-san. I also appreciate your kind words. However, there is more than... I am not such the hero you view me as." Sakura gave a half-smile, nodding.

"I know that. I know that there is much more involved than what I've found out. But I know that you're not a bad person. You did everything to save your brother, and I respect that."

"Thank you."

"How about this, Itachi-san? It's rather late, and your body needs to rest. Before we talk more, how about if we go to sleep? I know you're probably still in shock about being alive again- in reality, this experience is rather surreal for me too. But I think with a clear head, we'll be able to discuss what happens next and what you wish to do." Itachi nodded, knowing that Sakura was more exhausted than he was. "Here, if you take my arm, I'll help you upstairs. I would hate for you to sleep on the hard ground. I have a guest room with a much nicer bed you can sleep on." Itachi started to get up, Sakura watching him with a critical eye.

"You're going to be stiff," she told him, watching as he moved slowly. "You have, after all, been in the ground for five years, motionless." He finally rose into a sitting position, bending his knees and letting his hands brace his body to keep him upright. "Is everything feeling okay?" He nodded. "You can see fine?"

"Perfectly," he responded. She nodded. "I feel much better than I have for years. Besides the stiffness."

"That's a good sign, then," she told him, sighing contentedly. "I'm just glad it all worked. You were quite ill before you died, yes?" He nodded. "Do you feel any signs of the illness anymore? Tightness of chest, hard to breathe, anything of the sort?"

"No. I feel... fine."

"That's a good sign!" Sakura grinned. "I tried my best to cure your disease. As well as give you new lungs. I'll explain everything more in-depth tomorrow. But it's a good sign that you're up and talking coherently. A very good sign." Sakura stood up from the ground, surprising herself when her knees buckled and she fell forward. She was certainly more exhausted than what she believed. It was never a good sign when she couldn't even walk. Her chakra must have been depleted completely- or close to it.

Itachi reached out instinctively to steady her. He stood up slowly, bracing the weakened kunoichi against him. Her legs quivered and Sakura slumped against him.

"I'm so sorry. This is quite pathetic. I'm really sorry, Itachi-san. I... I must have used up more chakra than I thought. I... Thank you... I just..." Sakura fumbled over her words, thoroughly embarrassed. She had wanted to appear strong and graceful in front of one of the strongest men in the world, but had completely failed at it.

"Sakura-san, for how long did you heal me?" They began to walk slowly, Sakura directing him through her house.

"The entire revival process took about twenty-five hours straight." He nodded, showing no emotion to her.

"And you were the only one performing the jutsu?" She nodded, embarrassed again.

"I know; it's not intelligent to try a new jutsu alone. Especially one that requires such enormous amounts of chakra, but due to the sensitive nature of the jutsu, I decided to risk it. No matter what the cost was to me, I told myself. It's pretty dumb thinking about it now, but I-"

"Sakura-san, you're correct. It is rather dumb to do something of this nature completely alone. However, I must express how impressed I am. You single-handedly revived the dead, healing a corpse for twenty-five hours straight, no breaks, no other healers to help you, and came out with a double success rate. Yourself and your patient." He gave a small smirk. "I don't mind helping you. Any person would be in the same state you're in. Actually, I believe most would be collapsed by this point." She stayed silent, not sure how to feel. Itachi had complimented her, but his words still made her feel small. Something about his entire presence made her feel weak.

"Ah, this room." He opened the door, taking in the cream colored walls and navy-blue bed and wall trimming. Everything was neat and precise, and very tidy. "Itachi-san, I have one more request of you." She was leaning against the dresser, while he went to sit on the bed. "As any doctor knows, the first night for their patient is critical. I fear leaving you alone, to be quite blunt. I would like to sleep in here with you tonight, if that is okay." Though Sakura's words were asking him permission, both knew that it was more of a polite demand. Itachi nodded. "You sleep on the bed," she told him. "I'll take the floor." He nodded, watching as she used to walls, leaning against them to brace herself, to walk out of the room. A few moments later, she returned with some pillows and blankets for herself. She laid them on the ground, but before she laid down, Sakura approached Itachi. He regarded her almost suspiciously, an old habit that would likely not die out easily.

Sakura touched his arm, her fingers glowing with the last remnants of her chakra. "I'm placing a chakra string between the two of us. If anything happens during the night that disrupts your chakra, it'll jar my string, and thus wake me."

"You have no chakra left," he told her as she laid down beside the bed. "What can you do even if something does happen?" Sakura closed her eyes, beginning to drift off asleep.

"I have a bit of chakra left in my Yin-Seal. If worse comes to worst, I'll use that." She heard Itachi murmur an "ah" and the two lapsed into silence. Soon enough, her exhaustion sent her spiraling into a heavy sleep.

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><p>At the slightest movement, Sakura awoke, briefly forgetting that she had another person living with her. Though still tired, she saw Itachi sitting up in the bed. It was well into the next day, likely around ten o'clock in the morning, meaning she had slept for over twelve hours (Sakura was rather sure she had went to bed around nine o'clock).<p>

"I apologize for waking you," he told her. She shook her head, sitting up.

"No, no, I need to wake up. I can rest more later. If you're feeling up to it, may I examine you?" Sakura stood up off the floor, brushing down her wrinkled clothes. She would have to take a shower soon, but she was in no hurry just yet. First she would talk to Itachi and get him taken care of before she even began to think about what she needed to do to herself.

Itachi nodded to her request, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, so she could better access him. Sakura slipped into her medical mode, her hands light as they gently touched his torso and face. He could feel her chakra probe his body, checking and rechecking every little part of him. He could tell how great a medic she was, though, through her serious demeanor and her gentle chakra. He had rarely been healed by medical ninjas, but the few times he had, none were as careful as she was, nor as thorough. He remembered medical ninja chakra as being invasive to his body, hurting him and pulling at his chakra and body to make it heal. But Sakura's chakra was different. It was light and airy, coaxing his body to heal and work.

Not only that, but she was extremely professional. Itachi knew he was an attractive man. He knew most women fell for his pretty face and lean torso. This, of course, caused most female nurses, or female anything, to be slightly molestful when they touched him. The last female that had bandaged his body had let her hands travel a bit too much for his liking. But Sakura's hands had a purpose, and never lingered too long in one spot, nor did they touch him in any sexual way. She was definitely a doctor, through and through.

"Okay, Itachi-san, I need you to stand, please." He did as she requested, watching as her hands continued to glow pale green, pressed to his chest. Her eyes were closed in concentration, following his every movement inside his body. "Please take a deep breath." Her chakra must be able to take the place of a stethoscope, he thought, doing as she requested. She slid around to his back, pressing her hands against his back, as she repeated her earlier request.

A few seconds later, she withdrew her hands, asking, "Will you bend down and touch your toes, please?" Her tone of voice was formal, as if this was another routine check-up at her hospital. He did as she requested, feeling her hands on his spinal column. "Okay, please stand." She removed her hands from him, looking him over with a critical eye.

"Everything seems to be functioning properly. There are only a few more things I wish to test. For one, can you do a simple jutsu? Anything will do- something basic. Shadow Clones, Substitution... anything academy level, really." He made the hand signs, making an identical copy of himself. Sakura pressed her hands back on Itachi's chest, checking his chakra pathways again. "It looks good. Go ahead and dispel him." The clone poofed away. "Next, something a bit rougher. Can you make a light fireball jutsu? I need to check your lungs, to make sure they can handle the flames." He nodded, placing his hand in front of his mouth, gently blowing the flames out. Sakura moved behind him, placing her hands on his back. She stood there for some time, even after Itachi let his jutsu die out.

"It seems to be okay. I don't see any real damage done to the lungs, but we'll have to check out a large-scale version of the jutsu to be sure. That won't be for some time, though." She took a deep breath, taking a step away from him. "I'm assuming that your reflexes are working fine, considering how fast you reacted last night to steady me. So I'm going to skip over that part of the examination. I've checked all your vitals using my chakra, but if you'd like, I can check them using actual medical tools. I'll leave that up to you."

"I trust you," he replied. He figured the woman that had just revived him from the dead could easily tell whether or not his heart was beating irregularly with the use of her chakra. Sakura nodded, continuing to study him.

"From everything I gathered," she spoke up, looking back up at his face, "you seem to be a healthy man. All your vitals are in order, as well as your chakra pathways. We'll have to do an actual physical test later, where I can get you outside on the training grounds so you can move around, but that has to wait, considering I can't allow anyone to see you right now." He nodded. "Now, there is one more thing I need to check. For this, let me explain before-hand, because you're going to need my help." Sakura gestured for Itachi to sit on the bed, which he obliged, and she followed suit, sitting opposite of him. "When I found your body, your eyes had been removed. The only thing I could find was Madara Uchiha's chakra signature around the torn chakra paths to your eyes. Let me tell you, he did a number on your eyes. It was obvious that he was not a medical ninja with how brutal the chakra pathway severings were. Anyways, I wasn't sure what to do, but eventually, I came by a lead that led back to Sasuke. After visiting him, I confirmed that your eyes had been transplanted into his." Itachi remained emotionless through her retelling, much to her annoyance. It was almost as if he expected Sasuke to have taken his eyes.

"Well, I took some of his eye cells and replicated your eyes, transplanting them back into your eye sockets and healing your chakra pathways. Because of this, I'm not sure if you can still access your Sharingan. I know for a fact that the first you try to activate them, it will hurt, due to the chakra flowing through such scarred pathways. I'm not sure if you'll have the same abilities as before or anything else of the sort. Are you willing to try it, though?" Itachi nodded. Sakura crawled over to him, placing her hands on his temples. "Now, when you activate them, I'll try to heal the pathways. I'm almost positive they will break or fray. It will hurt. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Activate it now." Sakura was right- it _hurt_. Activating the Sharingan felt like lighting a spark and making a blazing inferno behind his eyes. He couldn't help himself when he felt the sudden pain- it was so searing and intense!- he flinched and let out a small groan, instantly trying to turn them off to stop the burning sensation. But Sakura's chakra was already at his pathways, stopping him from turning off the eye jutsu. If turning on the Sharingan was like fire, then Sakura's chakra was like water- cooling and easing the pain. Her chakra smoothed over his pathways, mending and reconnecting the frayed ends. She even sent the cooling chakra towards his eyes, easing the burning sensation considerably.

He wasn't sure how long she worked on his eyes, though he knew it was long enough for the pain to subside. Finally, she removed her hands, taking a deep breath. "Look around," she commanded. "Does it feel the same as before?" She was crossing her fingers, hoping the eye transplant had worked.

"It does. Even clearer." Sakura released her held breath, smiling.

"One more thing left to test then? Your Mangekyo Sharingan. If possible, I'd also like to see you use your Tsukuyomi, only if you're feeling up to it. I'd like to know that some of the Sharingan abilities still work. Judging by your three tomoes, I assume you can still access the Mangekyo."

"I'll do it. However, about the Tsukuyomi... it's a powerful genjutsu." She understood what he meant, that the jutsu might be too much for her considering that she was still tired, but Sakura shook her head, smiling.

"I'll be honest with you, Itachi-san. I've never been good at taijutsu, and the only ninjutsu I'm good at is medical ninjutsu. However, I've always had an affinity for genjutsu. As long as you don't torture me like you did Kakashi-sensei, nor harm me, I should be fine. Probably a little dizzy, but fine nonetheless."

"If you're sure, then." She placed her hands back on his temples, waiting for him to switch to the Mangekyo. This time, when he switched, it wasn't nearly as painful, nor did it take long for her to heal. After a few minutes of her chakra probing around in his chakra pathways, she withdrew her hands, looking at him.

"Before you cast the genjutsu, I need to know all the typical aftermaths of using the jutsu. From what I've learned, it stresses the eyes, though to what extent, I have never found out. We disabled Sasuke's Sharingan before he could ever use any of the techniques on us. Therefore, I'm not too familiar with what happens. Will you go through a quick list?" Itachi sighed, nodding. "I know you're not comfortable speaking about your jutsu, or anything about yourself." Sakura had lowered her voice into a gentle tone. "But, please, may I make one very big point? To the world, you are dead. They will no longer go and try to kill you or hunt you or use you to find your brother. I am the only one that knows and cares that you're alive. I've spent the last five months immersed in your body- I know your cells, your chakra pathways, your nerves, the way your body functions, and how your body heals. I'd say that I likely know your internal body better than you do. I've placed my own chakra and my own work inside your body to give you another chance. This isn't some ploy to kill you, because like I mentioned, you already died. You have nothing left to prove or to do. I'm not going to do anything with your jutsus, your secrets, anything of the sort. I'm your doctor. I need to know what I can to help you." She saw his jaw tighten, though it wasn't in anger.

"I know you're right. I know you're words are truthful. However... it is not easy to speak so freely, given my past."

"I understand. But please try." He nodded.

"Usually there is a difficulty seeing. Temporary fatigue. With extreme usage, I have to stop using my Sharingan. Occasionally, I have lost my sight in the eye." Sakura nodded, making mental notes.

"And the genjutsu? Are you free to control it and shape it as you wish? Or is there a specific way it functions? Like a set pattern?"

"I am free to manipulate the Tsukuyomi as I see fit. I can change time and reality, as well as how the victim feels. I can manipulate memories from the victim and alter what the victim sees. Typically, though, I go with one set pattern, since the genjutsu is used to torture a victim. It does not have to be painful, however. If you wish, I could put you in a deep sleep, or at least make you feel that way. It may make you feel more rested." Sakura smiled dreamily at the suggestion.

"Go ahead," she told him. "That sounds perfectly fine." His eyes were still the blood red, the black Mangekyo pattern bold against the crimson. Even though she knew Itachi would not harm her with the jutsu, her heart still skipped a beat in fear when she looked into his eyes. Years of training and the warning of never looking a Sharingan user in the eye had been engraved in her, and despite her logical side telling her nothing would happen, she still felt vulnerable at being sent into a world that was created and controlled by another person.

"Tsukuyomi," his smooth voice said, and she watched the eye pattern spin, sending her far away from reality.

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><p><em>The sky was red, though the longer she stood there, the more it faded to pink. A light, pale pink, reminding her of the color of her namesake- cherry blossoms. As if emphasizing her comparison, small pink petals fell from the sky, covering the black lands (which, too, seemed to fade to a white, as if snow). She wasn't cold, instead feeling relaxed and tired. <em>

_All the late nights from the past months, the extreme healing sessions at the hospital and at home, and the emotional exhaustion she had been feeling came rushing through her at full force. Sakura felt her legs wobble so she slowly lowered herself onto the cotton-like ground, laying her head down on something soft. _

_Through her half-lidded eyes, she could make out the face of Itachi. It was his gentle hands stroking her head that sent her to sleep in his lap. Over and over, she could hear the words, "Thank you for everything," repeated in her ear. _

_She smiled in her sleep, never wishing to wake up. Everything was too nice and... peaceful._

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><p>"Sakura-san," his cool voice snapped her out of the genjutsu. Sakura felt herself reeling, severely disoriented from the Tsukuyomi. She teetered to one side, losing her balance, beginning to fall off the bed. Itachi reached out, steadying her. It took her a few more seconds to gather her bearings, finally making coherent thoughts.<p>

"That is more powerful than I expected. But I do feel more rested, thank you." He nodded, remaining silent. "Um... how do you feel?"

"More tired than usual." She nodded. "And my eye is burning a little more than normal." Her lips twitched into a frown, as she lifted her hand to his face.

"Eye?" she remarked.

"My left eye. It is the one that casts the Tsukuyomi. My right eye casts the Amaterasu."

"Oh," Sakura murmured, nodding. "Okay, then I'll focus more on your left eye at the moment. I would say you could cast Amaterasu, but we're not going to do that in my home," she joked, smiling. Itachi nodded, not offering his own smile back. Sakura sighed, noting more and more how serious the elder Uchiha was. He was as stiff as his younger brother. She had hoped that Itachi would be a little more social, but to no luck. "I'm going to check your eye. I can only assume that the extreme use of chakra at such a small and focused point is what is causing the pain." He closed his eyes, feeling her fingers lightly spread out around his eye. Her chakra filtered in, but soon, she removed her hand, shaking her head.

"I'm going to have to actually touch your eye, Itachi-san. This will be uncomfortable, but bear with me a moment." As gently as she could, her middle finger slowly touched his eyeball, the green glow from her chakra blinding him temporarily. However, with the direct contact to his eye and chakra pathways, she worked much quicker. It took her less than thirty seconds to understand the problem, and she quickly removed her finger. "Ah, I understand. The good news is that your eyes will eventually lose that feeling. I'm sure you'll experience the same burning sensation when you cast your Amaterasu. It's due to your damaged chakra pathways, thanks to Madara. Like I've said, I've tried to heal them the best I could, but it's hard to make something perfect once it's been so severed. The chakra pathways around your eyes are still scarred where I resealed them together. Because of the scarring, it hurts more when you have such intense chakra flowing through them." Itachi nodded.

"But," she smiled, "with continued use, your chakra pathways will adapt and build up, almost like a callus. I may have to strengthen your chakra pathways, though, if you use both techniques in the same time period, or whatnot. That is the bad news part. Oh, and the added fatigue! The best explanation for that is that since you were dead for five years, you haven't exerted any energy or chakra lately. Same reason you're still stiff. Your body just has to warm up to the use of chakra and exercising again. So the added fatigue should go away after you get used to... well... being alive and doing normal daily activities." Sakura stood up, running a hand through her hair.

"How about we go down and eat something?" she asked him. "You haven't eaten in over five years after all," her smile was contagious, and knowing that she was trying her best to make him feel welcomed, he offered his own half-smile back. It was a simple tugging of his lips, but it was encouraging nonetheless. He nodded, standing up. "Do you have any favorite foods?" Sakura asked, leading him downstairs.

"I do like cabbage and onigiri with seaweed." Sakura nodded, smiling, realizing that the Uchiha brothers really did have similar tastes. Both liked rice balls, even if it was with different ingredients stuffed within them.

"I can make us some onigiri," she told him, smiling. "And while we eat, how about if we talk? I feel like I haven't told you anything about what has happened since you've been dead, nor have I spoken to you about what you'd like to do with your life."

"That's fine," he agreed. They entered Sakura's kitchen. Sakura immediately began preparing the rice ball meal, making a few other sides along with it. She also made some green tea for the two of them, even if her typical drink preference was hot chocolate.

"Oh, yeah, do you care if I let in my dog? Like, if you hate dogs or anything, I'll keep him outside. It's no problem to me, but I know he's begging to come in."

"It's fine," Itachi responded, sitting at her table. Sakura nodded, opening her back door to let in Heiwa. She smiled, leaning down to pet her dog.

"Heiwa," Sakura noticed that Itachi smiled at the name, "meet our new friend! This is Itachi-san; he's going to be staying with us for awhile!" Sakura scratched her pet's ears, finally getting up to continue cooking. Heiwa walked over to Itachi, sniffing him curiously. Sakura was surprised to see Itachi reach down and pet the dog. She had figured he would ignore the pup, but was glad that Itachi did have some human-like personality traits still left in him. "Heiwa was my first major success with reviving. He had been dead in the road for... I don't know how long. It was the first time, though, that I took something out from the world and revived it. I mean, I had revived dogs, cats, fish, rats, and mice before Heiwa, but they were all laboratory specimens that I killed immediately before reviving them. I never wanted a pet. But I couldn't bear to let my first success go out and die again. I mean... my chakra is flowing through him. He's... it's like he has a part of me within him."

"I understand," Itachi told her quietly. They lapsed back into silence as Sakura finished cooking their meal and Itachi continued to play with Heiwa. Soon enough, she placed the food in front of them, as well as the cups of tea. She sat across from him, both continuing the silence as they ate. Itachi was, surprisingly, the first one to break the silence.

"What has happened? To Madara... to my brother... Naruto-kun?" Sakura looked up, surprised at hearing his voice. She swallowed her bite of rice ball, frowning.

"A lot has happened. I'll start from around the time after you died." Her tale began, explaining Sasuke's entrance into Akatsuki and Taka, Pain's invasion on Konoha, the Kage Summit, Danzo's defeat, Team 7 clashing with Sasuke again, Madara's declaration of war, the Fourth Shinobi World War, Itachi's puppet body, and anything else she could think of.

"...at the end, Naruto killed Madara in a cataclysmic battle. The Fourth Shinobi World War ended and then began the tedious time period of treaties and rebuilding. While Konoha was entering into peaceful negotiations with Cloud, Naruto deemed that he had one more duty to accomplish. He, Kakashi-sensei, and I all went off to find Sasuke. I... I won't lie. Sasuke wasn't a pretty sight. His hatred had warped him beyond belief. It came down to Naruto vs. Sasuke. In the end, Naruto won. We took Sasuke back to the village and he's been in prison ever since. They offered him a position back in the village but he refused, spitting on Konoha's name, vowing never to work for the village. Naruto still visits him. He tries his best to make Sasuke see differently. But Sasuke's still the same. Well... almost the same. He's not nearly as warped as before. He's regained some of his sanity. Other than that... I'm not sure what else has happened."

"...Sasuke hates Konoha?" Sakura nodded, taking a bite of her rice ball. She almost felt like Itachi's tone was sad at the facts she had presented him.

"I can... I can make a speculation as to why," she told him. Itachi looked up at her, willing her to go on. "I believe it has to do with your treatment, Itachi-san. Your mission. How they framed you as a horrible criminal and made you kill your own clan. I'm not sure how he found out, but he did." Itachi nodded, though Sakura could tell by the way his jaw clenched he was angry. She waited for an explanation, as she could tell Itachi had figured out exactly what had happened with Sasuke, but he offered none. She almost asked, but in the end, bit her tongue to stop her curiosity. Some things, she figured, did not need prying so soon.

Silence rang through the room again, and neither was in any hurry to break it. Sakura wanted to give Itachi time to regain his emotionless composure, while Itachi was still turning over everything she had told him in his mind. Sakura took a sip of tea, reaching down to pet Heiwa. Both had finished their food, the plates pushed to the middle of the table.

"You never explained how you found out about the mission." Sakura raised her head, looking at him. She had expected the question at one point or another, and was fully prepared to answer it, having decided long ago she would not lie to Itachi in any way. His life would not be marred with lies, not again. At least, not from her.

"I have access to, what I thought, were all the records of Konoha. Since I'm the Hokage's pupil, as well as the director of the hospital and lead medical nin, I can access any person's file. So one night, I was sorting documents for Tsunade-sama in the Archives area at the Konoha Library. Because I was the one to disable Sasuke's Sharingan, I wrote most of the reports about it. Well, this certain night, I happened to be looking through Sasuke's file, and I realized that much of the information I had written was missing. Since this part of the archives was supposed to be the most heavily guarded and had less than ten people allowed to access it, I couldn't understand why my information wasn't present. From there, I started to realize that a lot of delicate, and I mean really delicate, information was missing. I've always had an affinity for genjutsu, not so much of casting it, but as in seeing through it, and I found a heavy genjutsu covering part of the archive room. It was a secret room and there is where I found the missing information about Sasuke's Sharingan, as well as a scroll detailing the mission of assassinating the Uchiha Clan." Sakura looked down at the table, sighing.

"I never meant to find it. Sometimes, I wonder if I would have been better off not finding it. Ignorance really is bliss, and reading something so dark and twisted about the village you hold near and dear really puts a strain on you. But more than anything, it gave you a much different light in my mind. I went to Sasuke a little later to confirm what I had seen, and he did confirm it, telling me how you died. I think it was more the shock of hearing someone mention you in such a tone that made him explain your final moments. After that... I... well, I detested what had happened to you."

"How did you find my body?"

"Sheer luck. I was traveling back from Sand and taking a route I normally wouldn't take to collect some herbs and see some different scenery. I've never been a big believer in fate, but all I can think is that it was truly fate that led me to your burial grounds. When I realized I had found your body, I made the choice to at least try and revive you. I was even luckier that Madara had given your eyes to Sasuke, because he preserved your body in death. It was perfect. You weren't decomposed and became the perfect test subject for my jutsu." Sakura placed a hand over her mouth. "I apologize, that was so rude!" She shook her head, removing her hand. "It wasn't like I only viewed you as a test subject. I mean, I did in some ways, but I... I did have a long debate whether or not you would want to come back to life."

"I'm not sure if I wanted to," he admitted. "I was finally free with death." She nodded.

"I figured that. But I... I thought if I had the chance to offer you another attempt at life where you wouldn't be tied down by clan names and expectations, wars, little brothers, or having to achieve any certain thing, that you might enjoy life." Sakura looked down at her hand, clenching her fist in thought. "I mean, I can't take away anything that has happened to you. I can't do anything to change the past, and I'm not going to try to. All I want to do is offer you a chance to change your future- one where you determine what you want to do. You don't have to be a ninja, if you don't want. You could be a civilian for all I care. I just want you to be happy. But..." Sakura took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, looking him in the eyes. "I'm not a cruel person, Itachi-san. I know it may sound like I revived you only for my own benefit at testing my jutsu, but I really do want your happiness above all else. That is why, if you wish it, I will remove my chakra from you- reverse the jutsu, if you will- and you may go back to... to rest eternally." Itachi did seem to think hard about it for a few minutes. Sakura could only close her eyes and pray that he wouldn't do that to her. She had worked so long and hard trying to revive him. All that work, all those notes, everything would be wasted. She would have a jutsu that was a success, but no proof for anyone to believe her. She would have to do everything all over again. Get another dead body. Restore her chakra. Five months of wasted time, repeated... All that time... wasted...

"...No, Sakura-san." Sakura's eyes snapped up, disbelief written on her face. "No, I will take this chance you have offered me and I will try to use it to the fullest. There are no shinobi that ever get a second chance like the one you are offering me. To deny the months of work you have personally went through to give me another chance, when so many others would give anything for this chance, would be the most selfish and ungrateful thing I could ever do." Sakura felt tears of relief gather in her eyes. She let out a sigh of happiness, bowing her head in thanks.

"Itachi-san, thank you. Thank you." Sakura took a deep breath, regaining her composure. "But we still have much to discuss. I have not explained fully the effects of my jutsu on you."

"There are added effects?" She nodded.

"Let me begin by explaining how I revived you." She took a deep breath, and launched into an explanation about reviving his dead cells, making new organs, curing his disease, and finally getting to her first failure, and then to her breakthrough about the life-force chakra, ending with her success. "Due to the life-force chakra and all the chakra I have in your cells that still stimulate them, I can sense you. Well, let me rephrase, we can sense one another. My chakra reacts to my chakra and life-force chakra within you, allowing me to sense when you are injured or even your location. But my chakra within you can sense my chakra in my body, meaning that you can feel me, too. This is just an added side-effect, though. The more pressing concern is that your life is directly tied to mine. Because I have used my chakra as a life-force for you, when I die, my chakra will fade away from your body. The jutsu, then, will be released, and you will die. This is, of course, if I don't find a way around that. But at this current moment, if I die, so do you."

"Does it work in the reverse way? If I die, will it affect you?" Sakura shook her head.

"No, instead my chakra will just fade away from your body, leaving only traces of it behind. I'll likely feel your death, but there shouldn't be any adverse side-effects. In this same way, I also have a suspicion that if I were to be injured, you would be able to sense it, as if you were injured, I could also sense it. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to sense the effects of your chakra and body better than you will mine, since it is my chakra inside of you." Sakura placed a finger on her chin, thinking for a few seconds. "Well... considering that my body has the whole of my chakra, while your body only has tendrils of it, it may be possible that you can sense me just as well as I'll sense you, since I have a larger source for you to identify with. Anyways, those are, to the extent of my knowledge, the most pressing issues with the jutsu and any side-effects it might have on you. But since you are, well in a sense, my test subject, and sort of an experiment, I'd like to request that you live with me for an extended period of time. That way, I can monitor you every day and watch how you are reacting to the jutsu."

"Are you sure you want me to live with you?" Sakura gave a small laugh, nodding. "Sakura-san, I pose a grave danger to you. If your friends were to see me here... you would be in a lot of trouble. Even if you know the truth, I hope you don't think you can get off with reviving an S-class criminal." Sakura gave a mirthless laugh, shaking her head.

"Itachi-san, you're just an added offense to my list of criminal activities, should I be found out. I read highly classified and dangerous information, that I know has to be illegal; I'm pretty sure even attempting such a jutsu as I have is considered kinjutsu and is very much so forbidden in Konoha (doesn't this jutsu vaguely resemble something Orochimaru would have done?); and not only did I grave rob (an offense all to itself) but I have revived an S-class criminal. Granted, none of these said criminal activities were conducted purposely, but since I've already dug myself so far deep, why stop now?" Her grin was mischievous. "If we do get caught, I should have enough influence to keep us both out of trouble. And it's not like you're a pushover or anything- if we have to, we will escape the village. But, I am the Fifth Hokage's most prized pupil, even more so than Shizune (at least, medically and training-wise, I'm Tsunade's prized pupil) and the director of the Konoha Hospital, as well as the leader of the medical ninja corps for the entire village. I'm a high-ranking jounin and my best friend is the most respected ninja in the world: Naruto. Not only that, but Naruto is to be the next Hokage. His council will comprise of my old sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and a decently good friend of mine, Shikamaru Nara. Should we ever be put to trial, I'll just tell them the truth. If that's not enough... well, you've got quite a lot of experience being a hunted nin, yes?" He shook his head with slight mirth, though he realized that she had thought out the entire situation and had a very valid point.

"Besides, Itachi-san, we're not going to get caught." Her grin had changed from mischievous to nearly deviant. "I did plan for you to be revived, and if you're willing, I'd like to give you a whole new identity. A new persona, where you can discard all your attachments to the name 'Itachi Uchiha' and everything attached to that name. We'll make up a new name for you, a new history, change your appearance... You can be a civilian if you'd like, or stay a ninja. Whatever you'd like." She stopped for a few seconds, standing up at the table. Sakura collected their dishes, continuing to speak, though she no longer faced him.

"By the way, do you want to be a ninja again?" He didn't respond immediately. Sakura figured he was thinking about it, and everything it would entail to give up being a ninja, or to continue being one.

"I'm not sure I know how to not be a ninja," he told her. "To let my body and chakra and talent go to waste... I don't think I could do that." Sakura threw a bright grin over her shoulder while she rinsed the dishes.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" she told him. "I thought it would be a waste, too. I mean, you just happened to be one of the strongest shinobi in the world... how could you give up all that power?" Itachi gave a small laugh, shaking his head. Sakura turned around, her hands covered in soapy water. "All right, Itachi-san! If you're sure you want to be... well... sort of like my experiment... then we'll work on your new identity and everything else! Are you ready?" Her fist was pumped and she was grinning widely. Itachi couldn't help but wonder about the woman in front of him- this kunoichi who, in one second, could be the most serious and professional medic in the world, and then in the next second, be bursting with excitement and bubbly smiles. She was... different from anyone he had ever met.

"Yes, Sakura-san. I'm ready and willing to embark on this insane experiment of yours." At the word insane, Sakura's grin merely grew wider.

"Insane, Itachi-san, is an understatement."

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Yo! It's funny because I don't care too much for this chapter anymore. I like the next chapter more.<p>

1. Sakura mentions something about Itachi's three tomoes and why that means he should be able to access his Sharingan; she's referring to the three comma things in his eyes and how Uchihas develop them over a period of time. Since Itachi immediately started out with the three tomoes, she assumed that he could access the rest of his eye jutsus. Which, in case you're curious, he can ;) And since we're speaking about the Sharingan, just to clear up, I don't think Itachi will be losing his sight anytime soon or going blind. He did just get brand new eyes, and it was sort of a transplant from his brother; still, it didn't awaken the Eternal Sharingan like Sasuke has. But it should have cured his eye blindness.

2. Itachi's Tsukuyomi was simply what Sakura wanted to hear. It wasn't necessarily what Itachi's true opinion about the entire situation was; as he explains later on, he's sorta half-thankful and half-resentful that she revived him. But, for the genjutsu sake, he was doing what she wanted to hear to go to sleep.

3. Sakura briefly mentions Itachi being a puppet. Itachi, as far as she knows, has no recollection of this event. There will be more elaboration on this, though, in later chapters :)

4. Sakura's listed effects: she's simply assuming all of these effects her jutsu has on him. Considering the experimental nature of her jutsu, there could be more or less effects than what she's aware of.

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Sakura must create a new persona for Itachi if he is to live in the village and become a Konoha ninja again. But what can she tell Tsunade and all her friends about this man who looks nearly identical to Itachi Uchiha? Everyone is suspicious; but they can't deny the facts. Itachi Uchiha is dead, so there is no way that another man could be him! _

_**Next Chapter: Arata Genji**_

__The plot has revved up...!

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><p>I really want to thank everyone for their feedback on the sequel idea. All in all, I realized that everyone was right and it was probably too early to ask. My bad! But, it did spark a wonderful idea that I would start planning for a sequel now and see if I like it; and once I got to Chapter Twenty-five, I would write two different versions to see which I liked better. Still, I'm going to leave my poll up for a few months and I'd still love to see your opinion on the matter! Thanks for reading and everything else! :D<p>

(Btw, the next Naruto manga chapter looks epic. I am so psyched for the Five Kage team up. It looks so freaking cool!)


	9. Chapter 9: Arata Genji

Howdy there, folks! I just want to let you know this is the longest chapter I've written yet! :D This is one of my favorite chapters, too. I feel like this is when the story really begins to pick up. I hope you all enjoy it, too!

Oh, and just for a note, I got my name meanings from BabyNamesWorld dot com. Arata means New, and Genji means Two Beginnings, at least according to that site. Just fyi.

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><p><span>Chapter Nine: <span>_Arata Genji_

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><p>"So, we're going to have to change your identity, Itachi-san. First thing first, you need a new name. Do you have any preferences?" They were sitting in Sakura's living room, both resting on opposite ends of her couch. Itachi shook his head. "I did have one name picked out. I thought its meaning was fitting. <em>Arata Genji<em>. Do you like it?" Arata meaning new, Genji meaning two beginnings. Itachi nodded at the name choice. Sakura was right- it was fitting for him and his situation.

"That's fine, Sakura-san. Very clever." She smiled, proud of herself.

"We need to make a history for you, too. This part I have mostly figured out, because it needs to fit with how I found you. I'm going to say that the mission I took to Sand, I met a man in a village at the boarder of Fire. I was at a border town, so this is all true. I even lied to Kakashi-sensei when I returned home about working on a medical case from someone I met at the town. You're going to be that man. Our story will be that we met at the town, and due to your striking resemblance to the famed Itachi Uchiha (yeah, I'm not going to try and deny your resemblance) I nearly attacked you. But you were a skilled ninja, trained at a young age from your kunoichi mother, who had lived in Konoha. Okay, this is where you come in. Do you know any Uchiha women that left the clan and village to marry an outsider?"

"I... Yes, there were a few when I was young. Many would run away from arranged marriages. I remember a friend of my mother's... I believe her name was Kairi. She was a half-Uchiha, as her mother married into the Uchiha clan. She was arranged to marry someone high-ranking and a close friend of my father's, and I remember my father's anger that she had run away from the village after completing a mission. She was said to be one of the more beautiful Uchiha women." Sakura nodded, encouraged.

"What happened?" Itachi shrugged.

"She had gone behind my father's back, determined not to be forced to marry someone. She requested aid from the Hokage, who obliged, sending her on a mission to a far off village. We later found out that she had gotten permission to stay there and marry a man she had fallen in love with. My clan disowned her and never spoke of her again." Sakura nodded.

"That's good enough a base to work off of. So you're going to be one-fourth Uchiha, which explains your similar looks to the Uchiha clan. We'll say that your parents both died on a mission, and you were left alone. When we met, after I realized you weren't Itachi Uchiha, I looked to see what was wrong with you because I could tell you were suffering from an illness. From there, I took home samples of your tissue to heal you and cure your disease. Upon curing it, I sent a letter back to you to request that you come to Konoha. You agreed, deciding that you had nothing else to live for in your village." Sakura nodded, proud of her handiwork. "Does it sound believable?"

"Good enough," he replied.

"Then three things left to do!" she told him smiling. "One, I've got to fill out the appropriate paperwork to request someone transfer into the village (I'll just run it up to Tsunade-sama tomorrow and get it approved). Two, we have to change your looks. And three, we have to get you a wardrobe." Sakura studied him hard. "I'll do your looks now, if you'd like. I was thinking I'd permanently change your eye color- and make sure it masks the Sharingan when you activate it. I'm going to reshape your face a little, to make those tear ducts that line your nose less prominent. And we'll re-style your hair. I can't really do too much else."

"Do you think it'll fool the Hokage?" Sakura shrugged.

"Who knows? We can only try, right?" She stood up, walking out of the room. "I'm going to go grab those color-changing lenses. And a few other things." He didn't respond, waiting for her to return. It took her a few more minutes before she returned carrying a medical pack, a package of contact lenses, and some eye solution.

"I thought bright blue would be a nice change for you," she told him brightly. He looked at the bright electric blue lenses, thinking that they almost bordered on the color of cyan. "I am going to put you to sleep when I work on your face. I'll be restructuring your bones and it'll be painful if you're awake." He nodded. "First, though, I'm going to place these in your eyes. Well, actually, can you do it? They're like contacts, but a little more special. After you place them in (and your vision will remain the same) I'll put you to sleep and then using this solution and my chakra, I'll actually melt them into your eyes. It won't hurt at all since these are meant to become permanent."

He took the contacts wordlessly, placing them over his obsidian orbs. Sakura grinned, seeing his bright blue eyes gleam back at her.

"Go look, go look!" she told him, gesturing to the mirror on her wall. He nodded, walking over and looking at his new eye color. The color complemented him, highlighting his face more than his black irises ever had. They were a stark contrast from the usual crimson, but it wasn't a bad difference. "I like them, Itachi-san," she told him, appearing in the mirror behind him. "Do you like them, though? I mean, I have a few other colors. Brown, green... maybe a different shade of blue?"

"No," he finally answered her. "These are just fine." He nodded satisfactorily at his appearance, finally deciding that he liked the new eye color. It was a good change from the demon-like red or the soulless black. And he had never known an Uchiha that had blue eyes, which made him feel even more withdrawn from his clan, something that he also decided he liked the feeling of.

"Why don't you go ahead and lay down on the couch? I'll fix your face up quickly." He assented, laying down, letting Sakura begin to re-modify him.

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><p>"I just... I can't do it, Itachi-san!" He looked up at the kunoichi, his mouth set in a strange line, somewhere between amusement and disbelief. "It's... it's so..." She shook her head again. The now blue-eyed, smooth-faced Itachi shook his head, and Sakura repeated her earlier statement, "I can't do it!"<p>

"Sakura-san, it's just hair." He could feel her gently finger a strand of the black tresses. Her scissors hung limply at her side.

"It's so beautiful, though," she told him. "How about... how about if we just re-style it?"

"My long hair is one of my defining features, Sakura-san. If you cut it off, it'll make me less noticeable."

"I know," she whined, placing the scissors on the table. She let both hands gather in his locks, pulling up the silky strands into a high ponytail. "But if we style it different..." To emphasize her point, she grabbed a nearby hair-tie, swiftly pulling his long hair up at the crown of his head. His long side-bangs fell down, framing his face. She frowned, tucking one of the fringes behind his ear. The other fringe she combed with her fingers, her face marred with heavy concentration. Grabbing a spray bottle, she sprayed the side of his bangs (and in turn, spraying the side of his face, much to his annoyance). Again, her fingers traveled furiously through the lock of hair, finally managing to make it into an incredibly straight fringe that seemed much thinner than what he was used to.

"Okay, Itachi-san, look now!" Sakura seemed proud of his new appearance, shoving a mirror in his face. His mouth twitched in annoyance and he gently readjusted the mirror, taking in his new appearance. His face looked thinner, his jaws a little more angular. His nose seemed thinner and the long grooves that lined his face were gone, leaving his face looking younger. The blue eyes shined brightly, and even when he switched to his Sharingan, they darkened to a different shade of blue, though it was hardly noticeable.

His hair did look nice pulled up, and the one strand that was framing his face gave him an air of sophistication. If anything, Itachi had to say that he looked even _more_ attractive than he had before.

"You still look a lot like you used to, but it's really the best I can do without damaging you in some way," Sakura explained.

"It's fine," he responded, nodding at her. "You do good work, Sakura-san." She smiled brightly at him, nodding.

"Now, we still have to get you clothes. I'll leave this up to you- you can either let me pick out the clothing, or you can come with me, but you'll have to cast a genjutsu over yourself and be invisible." He knew invisibility jutsus, and he really didn't like the idea of Sakura picking out his clothes. Even though he saw that her clothes weren't bodaciously colored, it still unnerved him to let her pick what he would wear.

"I'll go with you." She nodded.

"We'll go later tonight, hopefully when we can blend in with the crowds. Would you like to take a shower? Or read or watch anything?" Itachi looked down at his body, noting the relative cleanliness of it. Sakura noticed his inspection and spoke up, "I did wash you when you were dead. Most of the time it was just sponge baths with your boxers still on... but..." He understood what she left unsaid. She had washed him a few times without his boxers. Itachi nodded, knowing that she was his doctor, and would have treated him as such.

"I'll take a shower after we return home with new clothes," he told her. She nodded.

"Well then, I'm going to run and take a shower! Please, make yourself at home. You can explore; I don't care. Downstairs is my office and lab; upstairs are the bedrooms and bathroom. Do whatever you wish; make yourself acquainted with the house. Oh, but please stay away from windows and doors, of course. And if anyone knocks on the door, come and get me, okay? Or if you sense any chakra coming closer. Naruto has a nasty habit of letting himself in through my window, so if he does, try to hide somewhere. I don't care where." Itachi nodded, while Sakura walked away, heading upstairs. A few minutes later, he heard the water from the shower come on, and Itachi let himself sink into Sakura's couch, taking a moment to finally think about everything that had just happened in his new life.

* * *

><p>Sakura was evidently taking her time in the shower, so he decided to do as she suggested. Itachi slowly disengaged himself from her couch, browsing around her living room. A television (rather dusty, he noted) stood against the wall. Three tall bookshelves surrounded the T.V., all stocked with heavy medical tomes and texts. Across from her snow-white colored couch (a couch that Itachi decided was extremely modern. It was a half-square shape, enclosing a glass coffee table) there was a large bay window, gauzy white curtains covering the large panels. However, Sakura had the darker teal curtains tightly drawn, letting no one from the outside see in.<p>

There were a few photographs on shelves and hanging on the walls. A few of her parents and family, several of Naruto, and one that looked like her team (consisting of Naruto, herself, Kakashi, a man that Itachi had a vague recollection of being named Yamato, and a pale boy with black hair), and some of herself and Tsunade and Shizune. There were some more of Sakura and what looked like her kunoichi friends. While all showed Sakura at increasing ages, none looked to be very recent. He could only assume that it meant that she had not been socializing with her friends as much as she used to. A mirror also hung on the wall, crisp and clear.

Stepping out of the room (it had no doorways and was really only three walls- the room sort of melted into the hallway leading to her front door) he glanced around the bright green hallway. While her living room had been painted white, with a teal boarder, and white wooden floors, her hallway still had the wooden floors, but the walls were a sharp contrast from the sophisticated living room. The hallway was more bright and inviting, and he noticed more pictures (though they seemed to only be of her closest friends and family) along the walls. There was a shoe rack to one side, a small closet that he assumed held all her coats, another mirror across from the front door, and then directly to the right of the front door, there were stairs leading up. Across from the front door was the door to her kitchen, and that was the entirety of her hallway.

Itachi walked into the kitchen, continuing his observations. The white wooden floor changed into a brown wooden floor, and the walls were painted a happy yellow. The kitchen was spacious: she had placed a table to the side of the kitchen, and still had room for her sink, stove, fridge, large amounts of counter, two cabinets, and even an island in the middle of the cooking area. A sliding glass door led outside to her backyard, and this, too, was heavily covered with dark yellow blinds. There were several windows around the room, noticeably all around the sink and stove. Yellow curtains covered those, as well. A clock sat above the table, and bright daffodils sat in a crystal vase on the island.

There was a door off to the other side of the kitchen, one that Itachi could only assumed led downstairs. He opened the door, finding the few steps to the basement. He flipped on the lights, walking down. This was where Sakura's office was. The basement was huge, with bookshelves and a large desk being the only occupants in the room. To the side, he noticed another room. This he recognized as the laboratory he had woken up in. He didn't bother to look too much into the lab, though he did glance over many of the books and scrolls on her bookshelves. Finally, Itachi returned upstairs.

Sakura was still in the shower, so he decided to look upstairs. Walking up the wooden stairs, he looked around the hallway. The walls were bare and white, and the only thing the hallway had were four doors. The room closest to the stairs was Itachi's room, which he already knew what it looked like. He walked down the hall, and seeing one door tightly closed, and hearing the shower behind the door, he realized that it was the bathroom. The door on the opposite side of the bathroom, he curiously opened. It was not a bedroom, but a large closet-storage space of some kind. Sakura had all her sheets, towels, and other materials stored in the closet on metal racks. He noticed her washing machine and dryer on the far side of the wall, with a few hampers and baskets having neatly folded clothes within.

The last door, he figured, was Sakura's bedroom. He hesitated about going in, but recalled her earlier words, where she had encouraged him to explore the entire house. He gently eased the door open, looking around curiously. Her walls were a light pink, her bed a pale white with cherry blossoms embroidered on her comforter. There was a book shelf beside her bed that doubled as her nightstand. Her bed was large, he realized, noting that it was at least a queen size. Very few pictures were in her room- he could only spot three. Itachi took a step in, finally noticing a door to the side of her bed, across from her large bay window (though this window had a window seat in it, along with pillows, and what seemed to be a discarded book left behind). The door was cracked, so he opened it slightly, revealing it to be Sakura's walk-in closet. Attached to the door was an incredibly tall mirror.

He shut the door, finally going to look at the pictures. One was on her night-stand, and it was a picture of herself and Naruto, both giving a goofy thumbs up. Across from her bed, beside her window, was a vanity with another mirror attached to it. It seemed to be where Sakura did her make-up (though Itachi had yet to notice her wear any) as there was a forgotten tube of mascara still left on the vanity, as well as a cup containing various make-up brushes. On the vanity, though, was another picture that Itachi picked up curiously. This one had Sakura, Shizune, and Tsunade all in front of the Konoha Hospital. It seemed to be when Sakura was older, so Itachi could only assume that this was the day that Sakura had gotten promoted to the position of the director of the hospital.

Finally, he walked over to the last picture, which sat lonely on a shelf above her bed. This one surprised him. It was faded in its frame, slightly worn, and definitely old. It was Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, and his little brother posed in their team picture. He guessed that this was taken nearly ten years ago, when Sakura was twelve. He placed the frame back, deciding he had invaded Sakura's privacy long enough. Itachi left the room, closing the door tightly behind him.

Not entirely sure what to do then, he finally figured he would spend time in his room. As he walked down the hallway, Itachi felt a sudden prickling of his senses. He waited a few seconds, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort, finally realizing what it was. It was a fast approaching chakra- the only reason Itachi recognized it so well was because of how large and familiar it was. There was only one man who had that type of chakra- Naruto.

Sakura really did know her best friend's habits. Itachi had the strangest feeling Naruto would not be knocking on the door. Remaining calm, Itachi gave a few swift raps on the bathroom door, hearing Sakura swiftly turn off the shower.

"Itachi-san?" she called.

"Naruto-kun is coming. I can sense his chakra." Sure enough, Sakura could hear Naruto's voice as he screamed through her window.

"Sakura-chan! I'm coming in, okay?" Itachi heard Sakura curse on the other side of the bathroom door. The door opened, Sakura standing there in a towel, her eyes panicked.

"Naruto! I'm not dressed!" she screamed back, holding the towel around her chest. She lowered her voice into a hiss as she addressed Itachi. "Get in here! Hide in the shower!" Sakura wasted no time in shoving him in the bathroom, following behind him. "You interrupted my shower!" she screamed through the closed door, towards Naruto. Itachi waited, hearing Naruto's uneasy reply.

"Wahhh! Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to!" Sakura waited a few seconds, turning back to give Itachi an anxious smile. He ignored it, looking at her fretful eyes. "I just wanted to see if you wanted some ramen!"

"Naruto, why can't you just pick up the phone and call, like a regular person does?" Sakura screeched back at him. Itachi had to admire her swift change in personality when dealing with Naruto. Obviously, it was well enough done that Naruto had yet to sense anything wrong. "Anyways, Naruto, this is my week off! I just want to stay at home and relax. Maybe tomorrow or the next day." He heard Naruto sigh, then the shuffle of feet as Naruto moved outside the bathroom door. Sakura sent Itachi another fearful look, her hands trembling.

If Naruto were to open that door, both of them knew they would be busted.

"Sakura-chaaaaan, you said that last time!" Sakura's annoyed tone switched to exasperated, as she leaned against the door.

"Naruto, don't you have a fiancée to do this stuff with?"

"She's on another mission," Naruto whined back. "And... and... Sakura-chan!" There was a few second lull. "Can't you come out and talk to me?"

"I'm not dressed!" she snapped. "My clothes are in my bedroom! I'm not coming out in a towel!" Itachi glanced over, seeing very well that Sakura's clothes were on the sink. She was a good liar under pressure. "Look," Sakura began, her tone back to one of annoyance and at the end of her patience, "I'll spend some time with you in a few days, okay? We'll catch up and everything. Is that fine?" Naruto sighed, reluctantly agreeing. "Now, get out so I can change!"

"Fine, fine, Sakura-chan!" They both listened intently for Naruto's footsteps, hearing him slip out her window. Both tuned into Naruto's chakra signature, waiting to feel it fade. After a few minutes, Naruto's chakra left the vicinity. Itachi watched as Sakura's knees quivered for a few seconds, and she slumped against the door, taking a deep breath.

"That was too close," she told him, glancing up. Itachi nodded, stepping out of the shower. He offered a hand to Sakura, which she gratefully took, pulling herself up.

"You did very well under pressure." She released a breath, smiling.

"I'm just glad it was Naruto. Kakashi-sensei or someone else probably would have suspected something amiss. Oh well, I guess all's well that ends well, right?" He nodded, opening the bathroom door to allow Sakura time to change.

"Itachi-san?" He stopped, not turning around. "I... no, never mind. Just... thanks." His eyebrows creased, and he glanced back at her.

"For what? I haven't done anything." She shook her head, not able to explain. He dropped the subject, easing the door shut behind him.

_Thank you for doing this. Thank you for not being like your brother. Thank you for giving me a chance, too._

* * *

><p>"I want you to have something colorful," she mumbled to the invisible man beside her. "Blacks, grays, and navy blues aren't going to cut it. It's what you always wear." Her voice was low enough so that only he could hear her. She pulled out a long-sleeved blue shirt, it being a little darker than his eyes. Next she rifled through the pants rack, finding regular shinobi-fitted black pants. "Black isn't that uncommon for pants," she murmured. He continued to watch her, gently nudging his correct sizes for her to get.<p>

Sakura pulled out a white top, blue trimming lining it, and held it up, as if she were going to buy it for herself. It was styled differently, almost in a formal way, buttoning up one side with glistening sapphire jewel-like buttons. The collar looked like it could be fastened around his neck, held together with a matching sapphire button. It was quite stylish, Itachi had to admit.

"This would look fabulous over the blue top," she said out loud, nodding to her aesthetic tastes. "But a few more outfits, too." She picked up some regular, bland looking clothes that seemed to be standard ninja wear. More blacks pants, some blue, some gray; then she went back for plain tops- mostly whites, blues, and then a few blacks, grays, and darker blues. The shirts ranged from long sleeved to short sleeved, and some even with mesh underneath, and some without. Grinning, she threw a few red, crimson, dark green, and even two purple shirts in her basket. "For some color," she mumbled.

Sakura picked up a few belt-like sashes, the regular bandage wear that most male ninjas seemed to wrap around their legs, a few pairs of gloves, and two pairs of standard black shinobi sandals. By the end, Sakura had at least fifteen different outfits for her new resident.

Hesitating when she passed the underclothes area, she realized that Itachi didn't have any extra boxers or underwear besides the ones he wore. Blushing, she turned to where she assumed him to be, and barely audible, told him to show her which underclothes he would need. Sakura watched the fabrics carefully, seeing when one was nudged and moved slightly. From there, she would go pick them up, stuffing them down in her already full basket. With another ten pairs of boxers (and a few undershirts), Sakura finally went to the check out.

"Haruno-san!" the lady greeted her, smiling cheerfully at the Hokage's assistant. "I haven't seen you here in some time!" Sakura felt her face flush as she handed her basket of goods to the woman. She felt Itachi rest a hand on her shoulder, probably trying to ease her frayed nerves. "My, are you having someone move in with you?"

Sakura replied with an awkward smile, nodding. "A... a friend of mine. He's going to stay with me. I figured I would treat him to some new clothes for when he got here."

"Oh, well what is the sweetheart's name?" the kind woman asked, looking up at Sakura. "Is it your boyfriend, Haruno-san?" Sakura's blush increased tenfold, but she tried to remain calm, lightly shaking her head.

"Arata," Sakura replied. "And he's not... we're not... it's not exactly like that."

"Arata, hmm? What a nice name. Well, I wish you the best of luck then, Haruno-san. After all," the woman winked, "even if he doesn't like you yet, he'll be sure to fall for you! You are the most eligible bachelorette in Konoha, after all." Sakura laughed, embarrassed, trying to fight down her blush.

"I-I wouldn't say that." The woman rolled her eyes, absentmindedly telling Sakura how much she owed. Sakura quickly fished through her wallet, pulling out the correct amount of money.

"Oh, you are quite the modest one. All the boys speak highly of you, Haruno-san. I should know, after all! I hear them all the time when they come in here to buy more clothes." The lady thanked Sakura for the money, while Sakura took the bags of clothes.

"Th-thank you, ma'am," Sakura replied. "Have a good day." Flustered, Sakura hurriedly left the store, Itachi at her heels. They didn't speak on the streets as Sakura rushed home, but stepping through her door, Itachi dispelling his jutsu, he couldn't resist asking.

"Most eligible bachelorette in Konoha?" he quoted. Sakura's face turned red again, and she looked down, placing the bags on the kitchen table.

"It's not like that," she muttered. "I..." He raised an eyebrow at her, thoroughly amused. "Look," she told him frustrated, "it's because of my status! All the guys... I dunno, they think I'm really strong or something, and that if they date me, they'll be promoted faster, and have bragging rights around the village about dating the Hokage's pupil. It's... it's really dumb." Itachi gave a small laugh, shaking his head.

"But aren't you strong?" his tone was gentle, but Sakura could tell it was slightly mocking. Her mouth twitched in annoyance, but she refrained from glaring at him.

"In some ways, yes. But... look, I'm strong enough to defend myself. But am I as strong as Tsunade-sama? Definitely not. I... I gave up most of my training like that, deciding it was useless for me to focus on jutsus for strength. I have enough skill to protect myself and my patients, when need be. But I'm..." she smiled, looking sadly at him. "I'm not you, Itachi-san. I'm not Naruto. I'm not Sasuke. I'm not known for my fighting ability. I'm useless in a true combat battle. Well, mostly useless. Fighting guys like Madara? Pain? You? I'd be killed in an instant." Itachi had the strangest feeling he had touched a sore spot in Sakura. Something about her tone and her words made it sound like she felt completely useless.

"You're still a great healer. Better than any of those men." It was his best attempt to comfort the woman who had saved his life. He at least owed it to her to be nice. After all, he would be living with her for... for a long time, he figured.

She looked up, knowing he was trying his best to cheer her up, in his own soft-spoken way. He really wasn't as bad as she had always thought. His true nature was rather gentle. "Thank you, Itachi-san. I appreciate it." Suddenly, she clicked her fingers together. "Oh, you wanted to take a shower, didn't you? Here, I'll take your clothes up and-"

"I can do it, Sakura-san." She stopped, surprised, slowly nodding. She tended to forget that he wasn't useless, nor weak. And that he lived there too and wasn't just a guest.

"Of... of course," she agreed. "How about if I cook dinner while you shower? By time you get out, it should be done?" Itachi nodded.

"Thank you, Sakura-san." She smiled, nodding. As he departed from the kitchen, Sakura couldn't help but think that living with him wouldn't be nearly as bad as she had thought.

* * *

><p>"Itachi-san, when do you want your new birthday to be? Your old birthday was in June, right?" Sakura was stretched out on the couch, filling out "Arata's" paperwork to give to Tsunade the next day. Itachi was also sitting on the couch, opposite of her, reading a book she had loaned him.<p>

"What day did you revive me?" he responded, turning the page.

"Well, it was yesterday night... so... today's February nineteenth, so you want your birthday to be on the eighteenth of February?" Itachi nodded, not looking up.

"I think it's fitting." Sakura nodded, filling in the blank.

"And how old do you want to be? I'm turning twenty-two in a month, so I'd prefer it if you were older than me. Physically, your body is twenty-one, since that was how old you were when you died. You really don't age or grow with death. In actuality, you're twenty-six, turning twenty-seven soon. So do you want to pick an age between those two?"

"Just make me twenty-five. I don't want to be my actual age because that might be a bit suspicious." Sakura nodded.

"Very true. Anything to lessen your likeness to Itachi, besides your looks." She continued to fill out the information, speaking up every so often to ask him questions. The two worked in relative peace, more comfortable with one-another than they had expected.

A few minutes later, Sakura spoke back up, saying, "Hey, Itachi-san? You were an ANBU member, right?" He looked up from his book, nodding. "Do you still have the tattoo?" Itachi looked down at his arm, lifting up his shirt sleeve, showing her. Sure enough, the tattoo had not faded. "That's what I thought. I have to remove that."

"Is it removable?" Sakura grinned.

"No, it's normally not. But I don't care what's normal or not. I _will_ remove it." She placed the papers down, walking over to him. She placed her palm on the tattoo, and nodding to herself, looked back up at him. "I have to make a small incision; I'm treating this like a poison, okay?" He nodded, turning back to his book. He felt her slice him, curiously looking up as she placed her palm back on his arm. A few seconds later, he saw the tattoo ink filter out, forming into a liquid ball.

"There! Done! It's all gone!" she smiled, holding the ball of ink over her hand. Standing up, she left the room, dumping it down the sink drain in the kitchen. Itachi looked at his arm curiously, surprised that she had gotten rid of the ANBU tattoo so easily. It was no secret that the tattoo ink was a special type of ink that couldn't be removed, no matter who tried to get rid of it. It was supposed to be a permanent marker of an ANBU member.

Leave it to the woman who had revived the dead to completely foil the supposedly irremovable ink without a struggle.

"It would kind of be a bust if Tsunade-sama were to see that tattoo, right? Can't really lie my way through that," she told him, entering the room again. He nodded, returning to the book. "I think I've nearly finished this paper work, too." The two continued with their comfortable silence that didn't break until Sakura finished the papers.

"All right, Itachi-san! I'm finished," Sakura told him, holding up the stack of papers. "I'll go first thing in the morning to get it approved by Tsunade-sama. And then, after it's approved, I want to make it look convincing that you're from another village." Itachi marked the place in his book, closing it, paying attention to Sakura's new plan.

"We're going to fake out the guards. After I come back, you're going to sneak out of the village with a cloak and a bag or something. Go as far as you can, until there are no other ninja around you. Then walk back, and make it to the village gates around noon. I'll be there to greet you."

"That's fine," he responded.

"But," she began, "I'm going to be over-excited. You have to play along, okay? I'm going to tell you exactly what I'll do when I see you. I want our relationship to look natural and almost as if I'm infatuated with you. That clerk gave me a good idea; making it seem like I love you, while you regard me as a close friend- it's a perfect cover-up. So when I see you, I will hug you enthusiastically. You have to respond nearly as joyfully. Pick me up and swing me around or something. Smile." Itachi's face twitched in discomfort.

"I know," Sakura continued, frowning, "touching is not really your thing. But I want your personality to be a stark contrast from Itachi's- at least to others. You have to act friendly and, maybe not social, but at least a little more open than what you really are. It's a change, I know. And I'm sorry. But please play along?" Itachi released a sigh, finally nodding.

"I'll play the part." She smiled, nodding.

"Thank you. We'll make this work!"

* * *

><p>"Sakura, what are you doing here so early? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" It was early in the morning, at least for Tsunade, only being 7:00. Sakura held the packet of papers in her hand, nervously, taking a deep breath.<p>

"I've got a bit of a confession to make, Tsunade-sama," Sakura began, quoting the speech she had planned the night before. "I'm not really fatigued. I mean, I sort of am, but that's not the whole reason I took off from the hospital. Do you remember when I took that mission to Sand a while ago? Nearly six months ago, I think."

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, I met someone on my way back. I had stayed in a village on the boarder and I met a very nice man there... Well, as it turns out he had an illness, and since I was due back in Konoha so soon, I took some samples of his cells back with me, so I could study and heal him." Tsunade nodded again, not surprised. "Well, we've been corresponding a lot... and... and his mom used to be a Konoha shinobi, but she moved to the town to marry his father. Well, his parents died and I offered him to come to Konoha." Sakura held out the transfer papers, which Tsunade took, raising an eyebrow.

"When will he arrive?" she asked, flipping through the documents. Sakura's neat hand-writing had filled out every question and line, following the directions on the form to a T.

"Today." Tsunade glanced up, both her eyebrows raised. "I know. Short notice." Sakura winced.

"That's unlike you, Sakura. Usually you would have had these forms to me weeks ago. You would have followed the regular process. What's up with the rushed status?"

"Well with the hospital, I kept pushing back the forms and never worked on them. And then... Well, when he finally wrote to tell me he was going to accept my offer and come, and he would be here within the week, I sort of panicked. I rushed to fill out the forms, and that's when I called off work. I had to get rooms prepared, get more food, fill out the forms, get clothes for him... All kinds of stuff. I just finished the forms last night. I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I know I shouldn't wait that long. This entire situation has just been... sort of chaotic and haphazard. Everything's been up in the air about it."

Tsunade nodded, continuing to read the forms. "You said his mom was a kunoichi here. Does he have training?" Sakura nodded.

"Even with his illness, and it was rather chronic, he was still a wonderful ninja from what he showed me. A... a prodigy." Sakura fidgeted, waiting uncomfortably while Tsunade continued to read the papers.

"Does he want to become a ninja in Konoha?"

"Yes. He was... well, it was sort of like a rogue mercenary ninja. He did hired work in the surrounding villages." Tsunade nodded again.

"That's not uncommon. What was his mother's name?"

"Kairi... Uchiha." That got Tsunade's attention.

"An Uchiha?"

"Not full blooded. She was a half-blooded Uchiha. And... and Tsunade-sama, there's something else."

"He's activated the Sharingan?" Sakura shook her head. "Good. I didn't want to deal with another Uchiha."

"No... but he... uhh... well, he looks a lot like an Uchiha. That's why we met. Umm... he looks like he could be Itachi Uchiha's twin. You wouldn't believe their similar looks. I mean, their face isn't exactly the same, and Arata has bright blue eyes, but they both have long, black hair, they're both around the same height and body-type, and just the way he carries himself... It was eerie. I thought it was Itachi, so I sort of followed him around the village and nearly attacked him when we first met."

"You almost attacked him?"

"He caught me following him before I could. When I saw his face, though, I realized I had made a mistake. I explained what happened and he understood, saying that it had happened before by traveling ninjas. From the few Bingo Books he had seen, he agreed that he looked a lot like Itachi." Tsunade nodded, finally writing a few things on the paper.

"Arata Genji, huh? An Itachi Uchiha twin... You manage to stumble on the most interesting things, Sakura. When he gets here, I'd like to meet him." She nodded. "Everything else is approved." Tsunade signed her name at the bottom of the form, stamping her seal of approval on the top. "When he comes, just show the forms to Kotetsu and Izumo. They should be watching the gates today." Sakura nodded, taking the forms back. "After I meet him, we'll work out his ninja status."

"Okay, thank you, Tsunade-sama. I appreciate it." Tsunade nodded.

"And, even though I know you lied, I'll still let you keep the rest of your vacation. You still have today and tomorrow and this weekend left, right?" Sakura nodded her confirmation. "Well, spend some time with this Itachi twin, then. Now, get out, I've got plenty of work to do." Sakura grinned, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Sakura opened the door, hearing Tsunade remind her to bring Arata once he arrived. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called, dashing away. Just a few more hours and Itachi- no Arata- wouldn't have to hide anymore. It was so close... Sakura couldn't wait.

* * *

><p>"Sakura-san, you've been waiting by that gate for almost an hour. Are you sure you don't want us to just tell you when he gets here?" Sakura shook her head at Kotetsu's suggestion.<p>

"No, no, I want to be the first one he sees. I told him I'd be here when he got here."

"Are you positive he'll be here today? He could have gotten delayed." Sakura hesitated, biting her lip.

"He could have. But I believe he'll be here today." They waited, Sakura sitting on the bench, twisting her shirt. Where was Itachi, anyways? It was far past noon. He should have been there by now. Sakura took a deep breath, hoping nothing bad had happened to him. She hadn't felt anything wrong with him, so maybe he was just taking his time. She should have been able to tell if he was using chakra or had gotten injured or something.

"Ah, I see someone coming," Izumo remarked. Sakura stood up, rushing to the gates. Sure enough, it was Itachi-Arata- striding up the path. "Goodness, he really does look like Itachi Uchiha, doesn't he, Kotetsu?"

"I told you he would," Sakura murmured to them. Kotetsu nodded, looking carefully at the man. "Arata! Arata, you made it!" Both guards watched as Sakura's face lit up with an emotion that they were not quite used to seeing on her face. Sakura had matured into such serious, devoted young woman that seeing a look of pure happiness without any reservations, was quite striking. It almost looked like she was in love with the man, another emotion they were not used to seeing on her face. It was as if looking at twelve-year old Sakura again.

Sakura looked Itachi in the face, mentally hoping he was prepared. Itachi gave her a barely perceptible nod, and Sakura took off. She ran into his arms, letting out an elated, "Arata! I missed you!" Itachi was perfect in his role, smiling and picking up Sakura, swinging her around. Sakura almost lost her act upon seeing Itachi's smile. It seemed so out of place on his face (not that it looked fake or anything, nor did it make him look bad- if anything, it added to his looks), but that was probably because Sakura couldn't look at him as being Arata, but still as Itachi.

Sakura had her arms wrapped around his neck, and once Itachi finally stopped swinging her, he pulled her tightly to his chest, hugging her. Sakura broke out of their embrace, looking up at him, smiling largely.

"It's nice to see you too, Sakura." He had dropped the ever typical "san" off her name, making their relationship seem more intimate and close. Sakura giggled lightly, hugging him again. He patted her head, letting his hand stroke her hair. After a few more seconds, the two broke apart. Sakura grabbed his hand, pulling him over to Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Guys, this is my good friend, Arata Genji! Arata, this is Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. They are friends of mine; we used to work in the Hokage's office together, quite often."

"Very nice to meet you," Itachi replied, bowing lightly. Sakura couldn't help the grin that came to her face upon seeing Itachi be so respectful and kind. It was such a radical change from his normal persona. Well, he was always polite, but just not so overtly friendly.

"Ni-nice to meet you, too, Arata-san," Izumo replied, still slightly shaken at seeing such a close-look alike to Itachi Uchiha. Kotetsu nodded his own greeting.

"Well, we better get going! Excuse us, guys," Sakura told the two, dragging Itachi away from the guards. They walked hand-in-hand for a few blocks, before Sakura dropped his hand, sighing in relief. Itachi walked beside her, looking curiously down at her.

"It went well," he told her softly. She nodded.

"I'm surprised," she admitted. "I never realized what a good actor you were. It's odd seeing you act so... friendly." She grinned at him, to which he shook his head.

"A ninja is trained to react to all situations. Just because I never appear to have emotions, doesn't mean I don't remember how to use them." She agreed, nodding. "Where are we going now?"

"My house. Then to the training grounds, where I can properly test you. After that, we'll have to see Tsunade-sama. I'm not looking forward to that visit. Hopefully it'll go as smoothly as it did at the gates." Time seemed to go in a blur at Sakura's house. Itachi dropped off his staged bag and cloak, both eating a fast meal, and Sakura doing a quick check-up on Itachi. It wasn't long before they were both at an abandoned training ground.

"Arata, I'm going to ask you to spar with me." Itachi raised his eyebrows, curious to her reasoning. "The best way to gauge your physique is to put you with a partner, where you can react as you normally would." At his raised eyebrow, she amended her previous words, saying, "React without killing me or knocking me unconscious." He nodded.

The two faced off, Sakura pulling on her gloves, figuring she would be splitting the ground a few times before the sparring session was over. Itachi was the first one to attack, his speed blinding, even if he hadn't used it for over five years. Sakura put her arms over her face, feeling him make contact with them, still sending her backwards.

She glanced up, realizing he had sped off again. Finally spotting him, Sakura watched his hands blur together in a series of hand signs. She wasn't sure what he was going to do, deciding she might as well try to defend for anything that the man would throw her way. Slamming her fist into the ground, she watched the ground spike up as a protective shield, just in time to block his powerful fire jutsu. But not in enough time to block his next attack, which was a swift kick to her back. Sakura was sent sprawling to the ground, pain inching up her back.

She didn't stay down long, quickly flipping back onto her feet. Again, Itachi had vanished. His speed was incredible! No wonder he was such a strong ninja- he was so fast, it seemed impossible to hit him! This time, though, Sakura spotted him before he could send the water jutsu barreling into her side. She lurched at him, her fist grazing his cheek. It was chakra filled, and had touched him with enough force to send him back a few feet. Sakura didn't relent, charging at him, her chakra-laden fists drawn.

Itachi saw her strategy (Sakura had to remember that he still had his Sharingan, even if she couldn't see it anymore) and dodged effortlessly, almost toying with her as she swung her fists. She let out a frustrated growl, slamming her heel into the ground. It split, causing several large fissures in every direction. Itachi avoided them, flipping mid-air, and releasing another fire jutsu. Sakura barely had enough time to counter it with a hasty water jutsu.

Itachi was relentless. He had already appeared behind her, his hand swift when hitting her in the back. He was doing superbly well, considering he didn't have a single weapon on him. Sakura realized she was in a terrible match-up- there was no way she would even coming close to beating the Uchiha prodigy. Still, determination coursed through her veins. Suddenly, it wasn't so much of testing his abilities, as it was just trying to prove herself to him.

Her fist split the ground again, but she had finally formulated a plan. If she could get close enough to touch him, she would disrupt his nervous system. Why try to use jutsus out of her element? She was a medic nin, and had quite a few offensive medical jutsus left in her arsenal.

Itachi was back in front of her, trying to sweep her off her feet with his leg. Sakura allowed him to kick her down, swooping down and touching said leg. It was successful, and she watched Itachi fight for control of his body. Taking a deep breath, Sakura created her chakra scalpel, charging at him. Itachi was able to overcome her jutsu in record time, jumping back to his feet. Sakura was able to have one successful swipe at Itachi's face, barely slicing the skin, before he retaliated.

His kick was swift; she hadn't even seen him move. It made contact perfectly with her chest, sending her to her back. She gave a few choked sounds, coughing, laying down on the ground. Itachi hovered over her, tensely waiting to see if she would attack again.

"We're... we're done," Sakura told him, panting. With a trembling arm, she reached up, healing the quick forming bruise on her chest. "I'm done," she told him hoarsely, continuing to lie down. "That was ridiculous with how easy you disposed of me." Sakura shook her head, shame and disappointment coursing through her. She had thought she would have put up a little more of a fight with him.

"Are you all right?" Itachi asked her. "I apologize if I hit you too hard." She winced, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"No, no, you were even holding back, I know. I'm just a bit frail, I guess."

"You did a fine job," his voice was emotionless; Sakura had a feeling he was merely stating empty words to try and ease her bitter defeat. He offered her a hand, which she accepted, pulling her to her feet.

"Let me check you over. That was enough physical activity and usage of jutsu that it should give me a good enough indication of your body's shape." Sakura placed her hands on his chest, her chakra entering his body as was usual. It took a few minutes, but when Sakura pulled away, she was nodding to herself.

"You seem fine. Here, let me heal the cut on your cheek." She reached out, touching his cheek gently, continuing to speak, "After we leave, we'll head back home so you can change, and me too. We have to look presentable for Tsunade-sama. She may test your abilities today, too. Don't do anything over extravagant. Take it easy, like you did on me. You're strong enough to make an impression, even if you aren't fighting at full strength." He nodded, as she withdrew her hand, the cut having vanished. "C'mon, let's go get cleaned up."

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><p>Itachi was wearing the beautiful white and blue top Sakura had bought for him the night before, his long-sleeved blue shirt underneath, and nicely pressed black pants. Sakura had changed, too, into a nice black skirt and pink v-neck. She had even changed her sandals into more formal-looking ones, with a small heel. Her hair was swept up into a cute twist, a few black clips adorning her hair. Itachi's hair had been straightened and pulled back into a formal pony-tail.<p>

"We look nice enough," Sakura responded, hesitating upon seeing her make-up vanity. Itachi stood in her doorway, as she gestured for him to wait a second. She rushed over, quickly lining her eyes in black, putting on mascara, and dabbing on a bit of foundation. She decided to forgo eyeshadow, deciding she had already made Itachi wait long enough. "Sorry, I just figure it would look more natural that I had tried to dress up to meet you." He nodded. "Well, let's get this over with!"

The two walked out of the house and strolled casually to the Hokage Tower (Sakura had told him that she didn't want them to appear ruffled or sweaty in any way when they got there). They walked up the spiraling stairs and Itachi could tell Sakura was getting more and more anxious. Her hands balled into fists and, despite her cheerful smile, he could see the panic in her eyes slowly building. There was a thin bead of sweat slowly forming on her forehead, even though it was cool outside.

"If this goes wrong," he whispered, just loud enough to be audible only to her, "We will escape. I won't allow your hard work to be destroyed so simply." Sakura gave a nod, swallowing nervously as they approached the closed door to the Hokage's office.

They heard voices from inside, and happy to put off meeting with Tsunade, Sakura grabbed Itachi's hand, tugging him to sit down beside her on the chairs that lined the walls outside the office. They both tried to listen to the conversation inside, but noted how sound-proof the room was. Her lips trembled- the meeting was so important. If Tsunade were to even glance at Itachi's chakra system, Sakura was sure that Tsunade would realize there was something fishy going on. Tsunade knew too much about Sasuke's chakra- she would recognize the similarities in Itachi's chakra, and pinpoint Sakura's chakra mixed with his. She would also be able to tell that his eyes were clearly Sharingan-usable.

Sakura would be in deep trouble for lying. Lying and covering up and everything else. She may have acted brave and put on bravado for Itachi beforehand about how she was sure they weren't going to get caught, and how she had enough rank to keep from getting in trouble, but Sakura didn't feel that way now. Her insides were twisting agonizingly and she felt clammy all over.

The door knob twisted and both of them looked up at it, Itachi impassive, and Sakura nearly tortured. Shizune was the one to step out, making Sakura release a little sigh of relief.

"Oh, Sakura! Is this Arata-san?" Sakura nodded wearily at Shizune, figuring Tsunade had told her other student about the Itachi twin Sakura was bringing into town. "Tsunade-sama was quite excited to meet him. She's been wondering when you would come. Why don't you go on in now? Naruto-kun, Neji-san, and Hinata-san are in the room now. Their meeting is already over; it'll be fine if you interrupt. Besides, I'm sure Naruto-kun would love to meet your new friend!" Sakura gave a few rapid shakes of her head.

"N-no, I don't want to interrupt... I think it would be better-"

"Nonsense, Sakura!" Shizune smiled brightly, opening the door. "Tsunade-sama, Sakura's here with her guest! Would you like me to send them in now?" Sakura's nerves nearly snapped, and she gave Itachi a panicked glance. "Come on in, Sakura. Tsunade-sama wants to meet him." Sakura nodded, sick to her stomach, watching as Shizune stepped out of the way to let them in. As the two stood, Sakura grabbed Itachi's hand, pulling him back to face her.

"Y-you have a hair out of place," she told him, smiling, though Itachi could see absolute terror in her eyes. "Let me get it." He realized that she had no intention of fixing his hair, though. Her hand reached up, lightly brushing against his temple, when he felt the shock, almost like an electrical bolt slicing through his eyes. He nearly let out a grunt of pain, but instead winced, blinking harshly. Sakura acted like nothing had happened, pushing away a strand of his hair. Smiling brightly, she nodded to him.

It took Itachi a few seconds to realize that he couldn't access his Sharingan. The sharp pain had been Sakura's doing, somehow disabling his Sharingan. She had yet to make any sort of acknowledgment about it, nor any comment to explain her actions, but Itachi knew she couldn't. However, disabling his Sharingan had not been part of their original plan, so as to why she had suddenly decided to add such a thing to their carefully discussed plan, he could only guess at. He knew, though, it was something serious and something to protect him. As much as he hated trusting people, he knew this was one time when he would have to put his faith into Sakura's actions, though it nearly killed him to do so. It was definitely against his nature to trust.

They stepped into the room and the three ninjas to their right all let out sounds of surprise seeing Itachi. Even Tsunade made a low whistle of disbelief.

"S-s-sakura-chan, what are you doing with him?" Naruto's voice, rushed and fretful, made Sakura step protectively in front of Itachi. She shook her head at the three ninjas, two of whom Itachi had realized were Hyuugas. He had a feeling that Sakura's rapid disabling of his Sharingan had to do with the two Hyuugas, specifically their Byakugan usage. If the two used their kekkai genkai on him, they would assuredly notice the odd chakra around his eyes, which marked his Sharingan. Sakura had realized that and tried to disable his Sharingan, at least to make it look like he had no odd eye techniques.

He was impressed that she had managed to think so quickly in such dire circumstances.

"Itachi Uchiha..." a low male voice murmured beside Naruto. It was the male Hyuuga.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, continuing to stand in a protective way in front of him. "He looks like Itachi, but he's not! His name is Arata Genji and he... he's moving in with me." This left Naruto dumbfounded. He sputtered several questions, too many for Sakura to properly answer, though from the desperate way her mouth opened, Itachi could tell she was trying.

"Naruto, shut up." The blonde Hokage finally remarked. "Sakura will explain later." Naruto stiffened, but obeyed. "So... you're the Itachi twin Sakura told me about. She wasn't exaggerating. You look nearly identical to him." He nodded in response, opting to stay quiet.

"He looks exactly like Itachi! I don't see any difference!" Naruto exclaimed, squinting at Itachi. Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve, getting his attention.

"Didn't Itachi have the Sharingan? Don't most Uchihas have black eyes?" Hinata whispered. "Look, his eyes are bright blue." Naruto looked closely, even moving so he could get into Itachi's face to stare at him. Itachi backed up from him, uncomfortable with how close Naruto was standing to him and with how intently he stared at him.

"He does have blue eyes!" Sakura sighed, shaking her head.

"If you also look closely," she said, her voice relatively calm, "you'll notice that Arata also has a different facial structure than Itachi did. Itachi had those prominent ducts under his eyes- I noticed because I used to think that they made him look so old." Tsunade nodded.

"Couldn't that still be Itachi Uchiha?" Neji spoke up, his voice cold. Sakura's head snapped to him, her shoulders tensing. "It wouldn't be too hard to place in contacts to conceal his eyes, or place a simple Henge over himself to alter some features of him." Itachi noticed an angry spark in Sakura's eye.

"You don't think I would have noticed if he was using a Henge or wearing contacts?" Sakura asked Neji, her voice rather fierce. "You don't think I would have noticed if he had accessibility to Sharingan? Please, let me remind you, it was I that disabled Sasuke's Sharingan. I _know_ what Sharingan pathways look like." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I healed Arata. I've been working on a disease he had for the last six months. I think I would have realized at some point that he, I don't know, would possibly be someone a lot different than he told me he was! I'm not incompetent! I know what to look for!" Neji took a step back, obviously surprised at Sakura's ferocious words.

"I... I apologize for offending you, Sakura-san," Neji told her, his normally stony voice filled with a tint of surprise and remorse for upsetting one of the normally calm ninjas of their generation. "I was only suggesting it, considering that Itachi Uchiha was such a skilled ninja." Sakura took another deep breath, shaking her head. It seemed that Neji had hit another one of those touchy spots that Itachi was realizing Sakura seemed to have.

"I'd like to remind everyone that Itachi is dead. We saw him during the Fourth Shinobi World War, remember? Kabuto could only control those who were dead. We defeated Itachi there. Sasuke has admitted to killing Itachi. So how could this be Itachi?" It seemed that Sakura's logic convinced the others.

"She's right," Tsunade told them. "There shouldn't be any discussion as to whether Arata is Itachi Uchiha. Despite their similar looks, which Sakura informed me about beforehand, they seem to have no other similarities. Arata, I've heard you're a decent ninja."

"Yes," he responded, the first thing he had said since entering the room.

"He even sounds like Itachi!" Naruto muttered.

"He's related to the Uchiha clan," Sakura told him quietly. "Most Uchihas have similar voices." That explanation seemed to appease Naruto, even though Itachi had the strangest feeling that Sakura was lying through her teeth. Itachi knew that her information was mostly false- he had known plenty of Uchihas with starkly different voices from his own.

"Arata, when would you like to be tested? You're old enough that it would be deplorable to send you to the Academy. Sakura is a jounin; she can easily train you in anything you're not sure of." Sakura felt like laughing at that. Her? Train _the_ Itachi Uchiha? Sakura mentally rolled her eyes. "Someone has to test you to make sure you can become a genin."

"Tsunade-sama... can't we promote him to a chuunin, at least?" Sakura had a bit of a desperate tone to her voice. "I mean, Arata is twenty-five years old! To be the rank of a... a twelve year old child? I mean, I know the chuunin exams aren't for a few more months, but can't we make an exception?"

"Sakura, rules are rules." Still, Tsunade had a bit of a playful grin on her face.

"Arata will easily blow through all of the competition!" That only made Tsunade's grin grow larger.

"Then it sounds like these chuunin exams will be extremely interesting."

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune began, seeing Sakura's frustrated and desperate look, "you know that there are ways around the chuunin exam. And, even if not, if his skill is great enough, you could just promote him straight to jounin. Hokages can always promote a ninja to any rank with enough support to their skill. You know that." Tsunade's grin turned mischievous and Sakura looked between Shizune and her mentor, her brows slowly knitting together.

"...You were trying to trick me, weren't you, Shishou?" Tsunade only shifted her eyebrows up in response (as if saying "that's for you to decide!"), instead turning to face Neji and Hinata.

"Hinata, considering you are a jounin, and Neji, you're in ANBU, I'm going to allow you two to test Arata in the upcoming week. If Sakura thinks his abilities are so high, we might as well test them." Tsunade turned to Itachi. "If you can best Neji, I'll promote you to jounin easily. Hinata, though, will give you a basic entry level test, so you can get your headband." Itachi nodded. "Hinata, you can test him tomorrow, and then report to me with the results. From there, I'll give you further instructions, Neji."

"Understood," Neji responded, while Hinata gave her own nod of affirmation.

"Is this fine to you, Sakura, Arata?" Both nodded. "Good! I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you, Arata. Welcome to Konoha, and have fun living with my student." With those words, everyone in the room, except Shizune, felt they had been dismissed. They all slowly filed out, Sakura sticking close to Itachi.

She didn't have to wait long for Naruto to bombard her with questions about Arata. She tried to patiently answer each question as the group (sans Neji, who had excused himself and poofed away) exited the tower.

"And you're letting him live with you?" Sakura nodded. "Whyyy?" Sakura launched into an explanation, though Naruto interrupted her with another question. "And he's really a good ninja?"

"We sparred once, and he easily beat me." It felt like no matter how many questions she answered, Naruto wasn't satisfied. His questions lasted the entire walk to her home, and even after she invited everyone inside, they continued.

It wasn't until Sakura and Hinata had sat food down for an early dinner that Naruto was finally satisfied with the entire explanation Sakura had given him. Multiple times, she had repeated herself, and even more times she had apologized for hiding Arata's existence as a secret from him for so long. Sakura wasn't sure how many more questions she could take, and was finally relieved when Naruto nodded, becoming silent. The four of them were able to sit down around Sakura's table, eating the fish and rice Hinata and Sakura had prepared together.

Even if Naruto was done questioning Sakura, he was not done with his questions. His blue eyes slid to Arata, who looked up to meet Naruto's fierce-looking expression.

"Naruto-san?" Itachi asked, having changed his typical "Naruto-kun" into "Naruto-san" to distance himself away from his regular speech patterns. Naruto's eyes just seemed to stare intently at Itachi, his mouth slowly opening and moving, forming words and questions that he had yet to speak vocally.

"Why did you agree to move in with Sakura-chan?" Everyone was surprised at Naruto's serious tone. Through all his questions with Sakura, his tone was borderline whiny, and definitely exuberant, as was his norm. "What made you so special that Sakura-chan is willing to go so far out of her way to welcome you in?"

"Naruto!" Sakura was surprised, embarrassed, and slightly angry, finding Naruto's question to be rather rude towards Arata.

"No, Sakura-chan." The look Naruto gave her was another shock- it wasn't bright and warm, but serious and determined. His fist clenched and Naruto looked down at the table, looking as if he was holding back some sort of anger or frustration. "I'm tired of watching people hurt you. I'm tired of seeing you so locked up, your eyes so focused ahead that you can't even see what is in front of you, and your face set in such a grim determination that you've lost the ability to smile naturally, like you used to be able to. I'm tired of looking at the emotional scars that so many have left on you, watching as they change you as they heal. I'm tired of seeing you fall farther and farther away from me." His voice cracked, and when his passionate eyes met hers, it nearly brought tears to her eyes. Naruto had never said such things to her before.

"I... I..." She was speechless. Naruto shook his head, tears in his eyes now.

"Sakura-chan, you've been... we've been through so much. I love you more than you can imagine." His fist clenched, but he didn't stop, "I won't let another person come into your life and leave you shattered. I won't have another Sasuke- it's taken years for you to ease yourself from him. And look at how much he affected you!" Tears dripped down his face. "I won't let someone do that again!" A fierce glare was sent towards Itachi. "Maybe I'm prejudiced against you because you look so much like Itachi, but I... I can't explain it, but I would bet with everything in me that you _are _him."

Sakura wanted so desperately to deny Naruto's claims, to yell at him for saying such a thing, but his words had struck her silent. She could make no words to defend Itachi. Itachi made no move to deny Naruto's claims either.

"Even if you aren't, I can't help but not trust you. So, I'm going to make you the promise of a lifetime." Sakura looked up, her nerves frozen as she heard Naruto's vow. "If you hurt Sakura-chan, if you break her, if you leave her in tears... I'll kill you. I don't care where you go, where you hide, anything. I'll make it my goal to find you and kill you." Itachi had remained emotionless through the entire ordeal, and even then, he gave Naruto a blank glance, nodding.

"Of course, Naruto-san." Naruto stood up, the atmosphere heavy. Everyone's dinner was hardly touched, the food forgotten. Hinata stood up after her fiancé, watching as he walked out of the room.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan." She heard the front door open and close, echoing throughout the silent room. Hinata stood in the kitchen, concerned for Sakura's trembling form. The girl had such a strange look on her face that Hinata wasn't sure what to do- follow the love of her life, because she was sure he needed someone at his side too; or stay with her female friend and try to ease the damage of said loved one. Hinata glanced at Itachi.

"Naruto-san is waiting for you outside," he told her, and sure enough, Hinata could feel Naruto's chakra signature stalled outside Sakura's door. Taking Itachi's words as a hint for her to leave, she bowed her head. Her fingers lightly brushed against Sakura's shoulder as she passed.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san. And you, too, Arata-san. I... he's never like this, I promise. He's only concerned. Please don't take it personal." Hinata's head was bowed, her voice barely above a whisper, but Itachi nodded. "Thank you for dinner, Sakura-san. I'm very sorry about... about everything. Please excuse me. Have a good night."

"Y-you too, Hinata," Sakura's voice was strained, and she briefly looked up to make eye-contact with the Hyuuga heiress. Hinata bowed her head once more, rushing out of the kitchen and out of the house.

Itachi looked back at Sakura, whose head was bowed towards the table. Her form was still quivering. It wasn't until he saw the dark spots on the table that he realized she was crying. Her body was shaking as she tried to suppress her sobs. Her face was anguished, and even though her hair was shielding her face, he could still make out the tightly clenched eyes and gritted teeth. Finally, he could hear her breath start to come out ragged, gasping and hiccuping, desperately trying to remain quiet.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered, as Itachi was deciding to get up. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." He stood from the table, looking down at her shuddering form. Her head was still bowed. "It-it wasn't supposed to-" her voice cut off as she took a shaky breath of air, "to be like this."

"Don't apologize for things you can't control." Sakura's red-rimmed eyes looked up at him, and despite his blue eyes, beautiful face, and alluring hair, she suddenly saw the real him. The real, still the same, Itachi. No matter how much she had wanted, for the briefest of minutes, for him to comfort her, ease her fears and pain, she knew he wasn't going to. She was Sakura-san, the woman who had revived him and acted as his doctor; and he was still Itachi Uchiha. No matter how many physical alterations she did on him, nor how many times they acted out the close-friend, nearly a couple routine in public, he wasn't going to change.

He wasn't Arata Genji, no matter what his new records said.

The kitchen door closed, Itachi gone to his room, and Sakura left alone in a disheveled mess of tears at her table.

He was still Itachi Uchiha. Nothing would change that fact.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I'm going to jump straight into explaining things tonight. Cause there is a lot!<p>

1. Remember back in Chapter Four when Kakashi visited Sakura's house to ask why she had visited Sasuke and the resulting conversation the two had about her finding a medical case in some village? That is what she is referring to in her backstory with Itachi. I hope that makes sense :D

2. Itachi's new hairstyle is inspired heavily by Soubi from Loveless. Just in case you want to have a better visualization of his new hair style, here is a link to a pretty good reference pic! http:/www . /images/266/1175482969 .jpg Just remember to remove the spaces! His face probably looks a bit like Soubi's now, too...

3. Itachi's trust in Sakura as his doctor: You know how Itachi keeps saying Sakura keeps her mind completely professional when she touches him, or like when he trusted that she was professional to him when she bathed him when he was dead? Well, I just want to point out that it's ironic because Sakura doesn't. She just knows how to hide her feelings. Sakura still thinks he's immensely hot. She just doesn't act on it.

4. Tsunade's easy acceptance of Itachi joining the village: Tsunade doesn't believe Sakura's story so easily. However, she can't deny the fact that Itachi really was dead during the Shinobi World War. But, considering the fact that Tsunade has no proof of anything bad going on behind the scenes, and because she trusts Sakura and knows that Itachi is truly a good person, she's not going to press the issue much harder. The other ninjas easy acceptance of Itachi/Arata has more to do with the fact that Tsunade accepts it so easily. Since Tsunade isn't suspicious, the others (besides Naruto) aren't either.

5. It's mentioned several times in this chapter about Sakura's "sore spots". I'm referring to the fact that she hates being thought of as weak or incompetent. It's the emotional scars from Team Seven.

6. Why is Naruto so hostile towards Itachi, even though he and Itachi sorta got along in manga? Well, right now, Naruto doesn't hate Itachi because he's Itachi- he doesn't like him for being with Sakura. And he's wary of a man that is supposed to be dead. Furthermore, Naruto is sort of unsure why Itachi Uchiha would have teamed up with Sakura. Naruto isn't aware that Sakura knows the truth about Itachi, so to him, he probably thinks something fishy is going on behind the scenes that might involve Itachi controlling Sakura in some way.

7. The Naruto blowup towards Sakura and Itachi? Well, have you seen the way that Sakura has been treating him in this story? Naruto's blowup has to do with how distant Sakura has become towards him and just months and months of neglect. They are supposed to be best friends, but yet, she's been hiding a lot from him. When Arata appears out of no where, it sort of hurts Naruto to realize that something else is going on behind the scenes with Sakura that Naruto has no idea about. So he's wary of Itachi and he's angry at Sakura. I hope that makes sense as to why Naruto sort of flipped out on them.

8. Finally, at the end, Itachi seemed sort of cold towards Sakura. This is where it becomes difficult writing Itachi's character. I do think Itachi is a very nice person who is extremely gentle and polite. But please remember that he's been alive for like two days, and he's probably trying to come to terms with everything going on right now. He is trying to be nice to Sakura, but he's still dealing with his own share of emotional issues, even if he's not speaking about them. He doesn't know Sakura well enough to comfort her. To him, since he is a very reserved person, he figures the nicest thing he can do at the moment is to simply leave Sakura alone. He doesn't know what to say to make her feel better and he doesn't understand the situation well enough between her and Naruto to really understand why Naruto sort of flipped out on him. This is why Itachi walks away at the end without comforting her. He simply doesn't know how, or what, to comfort her. I hope this makes sense!

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Itachi has to work his way up the ninja ranks. But that's the easy part. There is still Naruto's threat lingering in the air, and Sakura's distress at being caught between her experiment and her best friend. And Sakura can't hide Itachi's fighting style forever. Especially from someone like Kakashi who knows how Itachi fights. She can't hide the truth forever... _

_**Chapter Ten: Ranks**_

__The plot is speeding up...!

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><p>So, before I finish up this chapter, I do want to ask something: What do you think are some of the best SakuraItachi stories? I'd love to read some more, but I've run out of really good stories! So please, send some suggestions of your favorites! :D Thanks so much!


	10. Chapter 10: Ranks

I'm almost at 200 reviews! You guys are awesome :D We're at Chapter Ten! It doesn't feel like it's been over ten weeks since I posted this story. That's kinda scary, really. I feel like I posted this story like two weeks ago. Sigh... I'm scared that this story is going to end too fast for me. :O Well, please enjoy! And thank you all for sending me ItaSaku story recommendations. A lot of them I've already read, but some I have not, so I'll have to check them out! Thanks again!

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><p>Chapter Ten: <em><span>Ranks<span>_

* * *

><p>"Hinata-san will be here soon to test you," Sakura told him quietly, as she sat food on the table. Itachi nodded, noting Sakura's blood-shot eyes, her slumped shoulders, and tousled hair. Though she sat down with him, poking at her plate of eggs, he could tell that she had no enthusiasm to talk to him. "Just to make sure," she began her voice still soft, "you still remember all the basics, right? Shinobi rules, basic techniques, et cetera?" He nodded curtly, his eyes narrowed a fraction at for her even asking him such a question. She looked away from his half-glare, turning back to poking at her food.<p>

She was down in the dumps. How could she not be? Naruto's words had hit something deep inside her and had left her crying half the night; something she hadn't done for a long time. Itachi's cold attitude towards her had done nothing to help, and when she finally pulled herself together to collect the left-over dinner on the table, it was well into the night. After that, she had slumped back at the table, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, feeling her veins fill with shame mixed with a deep pain and guilt.

Sakura had never realized how much she had hurt Naruto in the past few years. She had never realized how much her workaholic tendencies had stressed their relationship. She had always been a selfish girl, deep down, and when she had thrown herself into her work (swearing to herself that she was actually doing it to save others lives) she had never realized that she was pushing away those so close to her. Naruto had been through everything with her- and more than that. He had always been there, the one to go to when she was in tears, and needed a shoulder to cry on. He was always there, ready to give her a warm embrace and a cheerful smile; always ready to lend a sympathetic ear to her plights and then offer her the best advice he could.

She had taken that for granted. She hadn't realized how much she had pushed him away during her obsession. He had tried to reach out to her, keep her close, but she was constantly pushing, pushing, pushing, determined to be free.

And then, to hear his words of anger, professed promises of murder, should someone else hurt her... That had crushed her. Not because of his words; she appreciated his words, more than anything in her; but because he was still willing to do so much for her. He hadn't given up on her, even though she had constantly pushed him away. Guilt from her actions and her best friend's deep loyalty had sent Sakura into another bout of tears, much to her annoyance, and it wasn't until she realized it was after midnight that she stopped crying.

Then her body flooded with mortification when she realized how emotional she had become. Especially because Itachi had seen her cry, something she wouldn't let anyone see. The last person that had seen her cry was Tsunade, and that had been when she had lost her first patient. After that moment, Sakura had drilled into herself not to cry around others anymore. She was a kunoichi, a shinobi, damn it! She didn't need to let people see her emotions and view her as weak. No more of that.

Being weak, being doubted, being underestimated, being left behind... all those things drove Sakura insane- either with anger or a grief/depression combo.

So now she wasn't sure how to act around Itachi. She felt tired, emotionally worn, and embarrassed. She just knew she had lost a lot of his respect because of her tears. Why couldn't she have just held in her tears until he had left the room? Until she had cleaned up the food and had went to bed? In her bedroom, she could have sobbed her guts out with no fear.

She would just have to buck-up, square her shoulders, and let what had happened pass her. Really, she was acting foolishly around Itachi- she shouldn't have let her guard down with him at all. Sakura had to remember that he wasn't her friend, nor her comrade, really. _Arata_ was, but _Itachi_ was nothing more than her patient; her experiment. She couldn't let emotions and feelings weigh down her work and her professionalism. He was just... just her experiment. They weren't supposed to be friends. It would probably be better if they had a mutual respect for each other, but really, when did Itachi Uchiha have friends? Sakura was his doctor, his doctor, his doctor! That was all she needed to be to him.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura ate a small bite of her egg, deciding that she would just have to regain control over the entire situation. It had just been a bad day. She could blame it on hormones, claim it was "that time of the month" or something if he really pestered her about it. But he probably wouldn't, and she wasn't going to make any attempts to explain what had happened. No, the best thing to do would be to apologize for losing her composure around him, and then ask to examine him.

Sakura opened her mouth, finally looking up at him, her voice already rising up to form the word "I", when he began to speak, cutting her off before she was able to start.

"You never reconnected my Sharingan last night. I still cannot access it." Sakura winced, mentally slapping her forehead. She had disabled it quickly to make sure that Neji or Hinata wouldn't be able to spot noticeable patterns of his eye chakra if they had used their Byakugan on him.

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot. I disabled it because of the Hyuugas and their Byakugan."

"I had assumed so," he responded, still tonelessly. "If you would be so kind as to fix it after breakfast, I would appreciate it." His voice was still empty, and though his request seemed polite, Sakura could tell it was more out of forced politeness rather than something genuine. He was trying to be decent to her, not nice.

"Of course." They ate breakfast in silence, and once they both finished, Itachi collected their plates, placing them in the sink. She was surprised at his action, but figured he was trying to help out some- considering the fact that she did cook, and that it was her house he was living in.

Sakura gestured for him to sit back in the chair, which he did, and then she placed her hands at his temples. The silence felt tense and uncomfortable, so Sakura found herself speaking, if only to alleviate some of the awkwardness. "I didn't really sever them, or anything. I only cut the largest provider of the chakra to your eyes, and it wasn't even a harsh cut. Within a few days, it would have re-healed itself." Sakura could feel herself rambling. "If I had actually severed them, like I did with Sasuke, it would have nearly left you blind and in a lot more pain." She fell back into the silence, concentrating, feeling her chakra seal up the clean cuts she had made on his chakra pathways. "There. That should be good." Itachi blinked once, apparently activating his Sharingan, and nodded.

"It is fine." As an after-thought he added, "Thank you."

"No problem." Sakura backed away from him, leaning against her island, looking at him. She took a deep breath. "Itachi-san, I wanted to apologize for how I acted last night. It was completely unprofessional. I never let my emotions affect me like that, so I apologize for what you saw last night." Sakura had maintained eye contact with him the entire conversation, had kept her voice as cool as his, and had presented herself as a very level-headed _professional_ kunoichi. She patted herself on the shoulder mentally.

Itachi made no response to her words. He gazed at her, which she returned, both seeming to engage into a staring contest. Her eyes flickered down to his mouth, as his lips began to move, seemingly finally saying something.

"You are trying too hard." His comment shocked her, and she visibly recoiled, confused at his meaning.

"What do you mean?" Itachi shook his head, his eyes flickering away from her.

"We will continue the discussion later. The Hyuuga is here."

"Hinata?" Sure enough, Sakura could sense her outside her door. A few seconds later, they heard her gentle knock. "I'll get it." Sakura walked out of the kitchen, quickly opening the front door. Itachi could hear their conversation, despite the closed kitchen door. He was already in the hallway when Sakura had turned to call for him, after Hinata had declined Sakura's offer to come in, instead expressing interest to go ahead and test Itachi.

"Good morning, Arata-san. If you both would be willing to follow me," Hinata offered. Both shinobis nodded, slipping on their sandals, and exiting Sakura's home. The walk was tense; Sakura finally couldn't take it anymore and slid up to Hinata, lowering her voice to talk to the woman.

"How's Naruto?" Hinata looked up, giving Sakura a gentle smile, especially seeing Sakura's worried eyes.

"He's better. Embarrassed, and he's pretty sure you're furious with how he acted, but he doesn't regret what he said. He is sorry if he offended you and Arata-san, and for ruining the day for you two, but other than that, he said that his words were truthful and he wouldn't take them back." Sakura smiled, shaking her head.

"He doesn't need to take them back. I... Do you think he might want to meet me for ramen later?" Hinata gave a small laugh, her voice airy and light, almost as if she was relieved, and she nodded.

"I think he would like that very much, Sakura-san."

"Tell him I'm not mad at him, okay?" Hinata nodded, her smile slowly becoming brighter.

"Of course, Sakura-san. He'll be thrilled to hear that." The two ended their conversation upon reaching the Academy, though Sakura did feel a bit better knowing that Naruto wasn't mad at her. Hinata led the way for the three, entering into an empty classroom.

"First up, Arata-san, is a basic examination. Please answer these questions and I'll grade them quickly." Hinata handed him the paper and a pencil, gesturing for him to sit. Arata glanced at the small tables, judging them to be too small for someone of his height, and merely leaned over the desks, filling out the paper with ease. Less than a minute later, he was finished with the easy test about shinobi rules and conduct, handing it back to Hinata. She glanced over it quickly, seemingly not surprised at his perfect score.

"A perfect score," Hinata told him, smiling. "We'll begin the second part of the examination. Please, can you do a simple Transformation Jutsu?" Itachi nodded, not needing hand signs to complete the jutsu due to how basic it was. He turned into Sakura, making said woman roll her eyes. Hinata nodded, gesturing for Itachi to dispel the jutsu, turning down the clipboard she held in her hands. Quickly, she wrote something. "Next is the Clone Jutsu." Again, Itachi needed no hand signs for the jutsu, and his clones were perfect- four of them surrounded him. Hinata gave another nod, writing down more notes. "And finally, we'll do the Body Replacement Technique." Hinata withdrew a kunai from her pouch, looking up at him. "Do not dodge; I want you to use the jutsu." He nodded curtly.

She sent the kunai soaring with perfect accuracy, making sure to aim at a non-vital area of his body, should he not complete the jutsu. But, as she had assumed, he was able to replace himself with a nearby chair, thus the kunai thudded into the back of the chair. Itachi dropped gracefully back to the ground, withdrawing the kunai from the chair and handing it to Hinata. She thanked him, turning back to write more notes.

"You easily passed the test," Hinata told him. "But, there is still one more test I have to give you. Most incoming genin have to pass a test given to them by their jounin sensei before officially becoming a ninja. While there is no doubt in my mind that you are much more skilled than a genin, I must follow rules and regulations. Will you please follow me outside?" Hinata turned and the two followed. As they walked, Hinata began to explain. "This test will likely be relatively simple for someone of your caliber; I can already tell you're an incredibly skilled shinobi, Arata-san. Typically, for a team of incoming genin this would be much more strenuous, and maybe I should modify it, but I will not. I am carrying a scroll and your objective is to claim the scroll and then successfully retrieve the item inside it. One wrong move and it will explode and the mission failed." He nodded.

The three came into the training grounds and Hinata held up the dark blue scroll. "Ready? Begin." She jumped away, but as she had figured, and as Sakura had figured, Itachi was much faster than the Hyuuga Heiress. He came upon her easily, blocking her quick exit. It was over within a minute when he reached out, grabbing the scroll. Hinata activated her Gentle Fist technique, but Itachi, knowing she was a Hyuuga, had expected as such and the clone that was engaging with her exploded.

Neither Sakura nor Hinata had seen him make the clone in the brief few seconds since they had started the battle. Itachi came out from the tree behind Hinata, his foot impaling into her back, knocking her down. He put enough pressure on her back as a warning to make her release the scroll, but not enough to serious harm her. Knowing that she had lost, Hinata let the scroll roll from her fingers. Itachi picked it up, looking down at the sealed scroll.

He bit his thumb hard enough to make it bleed, smearing the blood across the seal. It opened and Itachi read the instructions for retrieving the item Hinata had placed in the seal. The instructions that appeared were vague, so he had to read over them a few times before finally understanding. From there, it took him less than five minutes to do the appropriate jutsus needed to unlock the scroll (anything from clone jutsus, to a light fire jutsu, to even a small water jutsu) and from the scroll came a small key. He handed it back to Hinata, who smiled and nodded.

"Simple, right?" she asked. He nodded. "You passed. Here, your new forehead protector." He took the headband and placed it around his forehead, not realizing how odd it had felt without wearing one. The heavy metal felt good on his forehead, and he was glad to have it back, even if it wasn't the same forehead protector he had originally owned.

"Neji-nii-san will likely test you tomorrow or the day after." Hinata gave him another gentle smile, though it seemed to almost be teeming with confidence at something neither of them knew. "You'll easily pass, I believe. You're no ordinary shinobi, Arata-san. You're abilities are far too sharp and collected." It was a _knowing_ smile, Sakura decided. It was as if Hinata knew everything going on between them- as if she knew the dreadful truth behind Arata's identity. Sakura glanced at Itachi, whose emotionless stare was enough to tell her that he was aware of Hinata's insinuation.

But Hinata didn't comment further on it, which Sakura was grateful for. If there was one thing she could say about the Hyuuga Heiress, the woman was extremely perceptive. Even if Hinata knew Arata was Itachi, despite never having met Itachi (at least to Sakura's knowledge), she was intelligent enough to know that there was something going on behind the scenes. Hinata trusted Sakura enough to not speak of anything, so Sakura figured she could take a deep breath and just trust Naruto's fiancée.

The group walked far enough until Hinata decided to part with them. "I do have to get this report to Tsunade-sama. But, Sakura-san, I'll let Naruto-kun know that you want to have ramen with him. And..." Hinata trailed off, focusing her attention back on Arata. "I know after last night, we both probably made a bad impression, and I do deeply apologize for that," Hinata's soft voice had become even softer with her embarrassment, but she still spoke with clarity, "but I think Naruto-kun and I would love to try and right our wrongs. Maybe we can go out to dinner another time? I feel awful about last night and what happened." Itachi gave a small nod.

"That is fine," he spoke, his voice carrying traces of kindness in it. Hinata nodded once more, murmuring a "thank you" and then parting from the two.

Sakura sighed, glancing over at him. "Let's just see how this all plays out," she told him, referring to Hinata's insinuation towards his identity. "We'll deal with each incoming problem as it comes." He nodded. "Now, how about some sparring?"

* * *

><p>Kick, dodge, kick, punch, dodge, shatter the ground, shatter the tree, throw the tree, dodge, dodge, dodge, back flip, kick, heel slam, punch, kick, jump, flip, smash the ground, roundhouse kick, heel drop, spin, duck, kick, dodge, kick, punch, flip, flip, shatter another tree, kick, dodge, kick, punch, kick, pant, pant, pant, breathe, breathe, dodge, dodge, flip, jump, duck, kick, kick, kick, dodge, duck, smash, smash, dodge, run.<p>

Sakura took a deep breath, leaning against the tree trunk. He would come at her at any moment. Her body was screaming in protest- Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had fought like this. Her legs ached, her arms ached, _everything _ached. She had used more muscles in the past... Sakura took a glance at the sky, judging from the sun's position how long they had been at it... past four hours than she had in several months. When was the last time she had went on a combat related mission? Shortly after becoming a jounin, maybe? That was _years _ago.

She felt a flicker of chakra and dropped down from the branch, not even bothering to try and jump away. She'd have more chance of surviving the ten-foot drop than surviving one of his attacks. Sakura landed on all fours, using her chakra to soften her impact. She wasted no time in taking off, drawing chakra to her fists. Only one way to put more distance between the two of them- use the trees! Sakura punched two different trees, one fist per tree, letting them fall behind her, hopefully cutting off her pursuer. She wasn't going to wait around and find out, though.

Sakura realized she was coming to a clearing, and knew the best way to fight him would be an all out offensive- again. She skidded to a halt in the middle of the clearing, waiting. As soon as she felt even the slightest sign of him, she would shatter the entire ground.

Maybe that would shake him up a bit!

She waited, finally seeing him. Sakura lowered herself into a fighting stance, her body tensing at his appearance. He dropped to the ground, almost as if humoring her. She wasted no time and charged at him, but stopped suddenly, slamming both fists into the ground, watching as the ground split and cracked beneath her. Using chakra, she propelled herself upwards, taking a deep breath, and looking for him. As she had figured, he had jumped into the air with her. Sakura growled, twisting her body to throw a kick towards his face. Even mid-air, he was still able to bend his body backwards, dodging the kick.

But, when he landed seconds before her on the ground, Sakura finally thought she might have him. Her feet filled with chakra and she slammed into the ground as hard as possible. If it had cracked before, then she was sure she had practically just split the earth almost to its core with the force she used. The ground cracked, fissured, and ruptured beneath her feet. This time, he was caught off guard. The rocks knocked him off balance, and she felt triumphant seeing him fall.

Only to feel the same growling frustration when his body exploded, sending her flying backwards into one of her own ground-split rocks. _Another_ exploding clone. Yet again, Sakura felt herself entering into another endless cycle. This had happened before- quite a few times. Every time she thought she had gotten close, had landed a successful hit on him, a clone exploded, or turned into crows, or poofed away, or turned into some type of element, like dirt, water, and at one point, even fire.

He was ridiculously frustrating and annoying. She couldn't touch him!

Her arms trembled when she lifted herself up. She had been the one to suggest sparring. He had been the one to pick the location, telling her he'd like to test out his abilities at the fullest. She had agreed. Now she wished she hadn't. Gods, she wished she hadn't.

Sakura picked up on him again, sensing his chakra above her. She glanced wearily up, chakra forming scalpel-like blades in her hands as her defense. His look was amused, a kunai twirling in his hand. Really, there was no time to hesitate. Sakura came at him, ignoring her protesting body, aiming the blades at his face. He parried her attack with his kunai, though Sakura did feel immense satisfaction when her chakra proved to be stronger than the metal, actually shattering it. The chakra cut into his hand, making his eyes narrow angrily.

Sakura had lifted her eyes just in time to see him open his mouth and blow her backwards with a strong fire jutsu. It was all she could do to counter with a water jutsu, dousing the flames. Her jaw clenched when she saw her singed clothes. Rage settled in her veins, but she knew better than to act upon it. She took a few calming breaths, and attacked, her fingers rapidly bending and arching into the correct hand signs. Sakura had never been one to use jutsus, besides medical ninjutsu, but her frustration was at its peak and chakra-enhanced strength just wasn't cutting it.

Her jutsu was a water-based jutsu, and she blasted the entire area, hoping to make the ground slick enough for him to lose his footing and slip. One wrong move and she would have him! Sakura stopped her jutsu and chased after him, her body beginning to react instinctively as she pursued the nin. Her torso would arch around tree branches, her legs automatically jumping over thrown kunai, her arms flipping her body over incoming trees and obstacles. She gave a lurch, her fist finally grazing his body, sending him sprawling down from the tree. As she had hoped, the ground was slick enough for him to lose his footing. He slid backwards, catching himself with his hands.

Sakura was down on him, her body pressing onto his, her hands brutally pressing down his shoulders. "I've got you," she whispered, a chakra blade forming in her hand, which she moved to his throat. Finally, she had won!

"Are you so sure?" his voice was cool and a smirk slowly flitted across his face. Sakura's eyes began to widen in horror, praying with everything in her that he wasn't a clone.

"You're the real one," Sakura muttered.

"Am I?" Her eyes flickered, panicked, as a suave voice floated in her ear. She whipped her head around, meeting his icy blue eyes. Her hand hesitated, not sure who to attack and which one was real. He took note of that hesitation, flipping her over. The one behind her poofed away, and with a startling horror, Sakura realized she _had _been holding the correct one in her grasp!

"Now who has who?" His voice had a light teasing tone in it. Sakura let out a frustrated growl, trying to force chakra into her arms and shove him off. But she couldn't get anything into her arms; instead, they began to spasm, having worked much harder than what she was used to. "It looks like I win, Sakura."

"Get off me, Itachi," she hissed, turning away. Again, she had lost.

"You put up a good fight this time," he told her, making no motion to move. "You hit me quite a few times." She did see a bruise on his chin, a few cuts on his arm, and she was sure there would be a few bruises on his torso.

But Sakura had sustained triple that damage. Her torso was completely bruised up, her arms cut up, her legs scratched, her face had a good few markings of scratches and bruises, and more than anything, she was exhausted. Her muscles had been pushed beyond their regular limitations, to the point where they were twitching and locking up in painful cramps. The adrenaline that had been fueling her movements faded and Sakura let her head slump painfully onto the ground. Her fingers twitched, and she groaned, realizing there was a painful burn from his fire jutsu residing on them and up her arm.

"You're worse than Naruto," she told him. "Gods, you're so much worse!" A hand weakly rose to shove him off of her, to which he complied, standing on his feet. "Five years you were dead- you should be at half your abilities!"

"I am." Sakura sharply sat up, ignoring her screaming torso muscles at the sudden movement, and looked at him, almost appalled.

"This is _half_ your ability?" Her arms twitched and almost gave out when she tried to push herself to her feet. Itachi noticed and reached down, helping her up. She nodded her thanks to him, though he didn't release her immediately, noticing her quivering legs. Instead, he held on to her arm, helping her stand, while she looked at him, frowning in contemplation. He realized she had reverted back into her medic mode. "What exactly isn't the same as before? Is it your stamina? Your speed?"

"I am slower," he agreed, "though I wouldn't say stamina exactly. I have more stamina than I did before I died, but that's due to the cured disease. However, it's not... enough stamina." Sakura understood what he meant. His stamina was not at the amount it should be for someone like him, without his disease hindering him.

"Strength? Muscles? Are those areas subpar, as well?" He nodded. "I think it'll just take a while for the abilities to return to their norm. I mean, you were dead for five years. Your body hadn't moved, so there is no doubt that your muscles became flaccid. In a sense, you're going to have start all over to regain your normal level of your abilities. But, assuming you train like this every day, it wouldn't surprise me to see you back to above par with a few months." Her medic face fell, and she rolled her eyes at him. "_Half_ of your strength. Ridiculous. I need to train more and take up more missions. I feel pathetically weak compared to you."

"Our abilities lie in different areas," he murmured to her, letting her lean against him as they walked back to her home. Sakura's body was trembling with the strain of walking, and she shook her head in disgust.

"Yes, but I must have really let myself go if I can't even walk after a training session with you!" Itachi gave a small shake of his head.

"You did better than most would have. Your specialty is medicine and healing- to put up the fight you did was a feat in itself." Sakura hadn't thought of it in that aspect, so slowly she nodded.

"Tsunade-sama would have done better, though."

"She has more experience than you do. And have you fought her recently? Maybe you would be surprised at your growth."

"Well... it has been several years, actually," Sakura admitted. "Well, I can say this at least. You should do absolutely fine during your spar with Neji-san tomorrow. I can't imagine how you could lose." Sakura took a deep breath, trying to stand on her own. Almost immediately her legs buckled. Itachi's arm went around her waist, steadying her. She sighed, thanking him, and then looped her arm around his neck. "Even I can hold my own against Neji-san, so I know fighting him should be easy for you."

He nodded, an amused smirk on his face. Sakura sighed again, especially upon seeing several people curiously glance at them as they walked down the streets. She could understand their confusion, even if her first instinct was to yell at them to mind their own business. Sakura Haruno was not known to ever let someone help her (she could definitely remember hearing Ino say people described her as "fiercely independent and stubborn"), nor was she ever known to be in such a state to _need _someone to help her. Well, there was always a first for everything, she supposed.

Speaking of which... Sakura turned towards Itachi, her own smile tugging on her lips. "I never expected you to be one to help out," she admitted to him. "I sort of figured you were going to leave me at the training grounds and expect me to make my own way home."

"I'm not a cruel person, Sakura-san," he replied tonelessly. "Despite what rumors may say." Her mouth twitched into a grin at that statement.

"The rumors really do make you sound a lot more awful than you really are," she agreed. "When you woke up, I was rather scared you were going to kill me on sight. I just knew you were going to strangle me or something."

"I do not kill without reason," he told her softly. "It... bothers me to kill needlessly." That made her eyes widen. For some reason, Sakura had never expected to hear _Itachi Uchiha_ say he didn't like to kill. No, it was wrong to think like that. She was reverting back to prejudiced thoughts. The real Itachi wouldn't like to kill others. The real Itachi seemed to be rather gentle in nature.

"Maybe you should become a medic nin then," she offered, her tone slightly teasing, "since we save lives, instead of taking them." He gave a bland smile, but shook his head.

"My chakra control is not good enough to be a healer, like you are." Her eyebrows creased, feeling completely taken aback.

"Bu-but... you're... you. You should be able to do anything." He gave an amused half-smile at her, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you're so strong. It just seems like your chakra control should be better than mine."

"There is a reason why there is only one Tsunade in the world, and in that sense, only two people in this entire world who can be called the best healers in existence. That would be you and her. And the reason is because of the precise chakra control you both have- more so than any other ninja. I can do medical ninjutsu," he assured her, "but nothing complex. Basic medical ninjutsu that most advanced shinobi know. However, the precise chakra-controlled strength? The chakra scalpel-blades? Reviving the dead? I don't think anyone has that type of chakra control besides you and your mentor."

"I guess... chakra control was one of the only things I was good at," she admitted. "It was just like second nature to me."

"Just as fighting is second nature to me," Itachi told her lightly. Sakura nodded, understanding his point. They were two different types of shinobi, and both were at the top of their field. It wasn't so much as being the best in everything, but being good in what you excelled at. Itachi wasn't going to try and become a medical nin at any point in his career, so Sakura figured she shouldn't try and become an assassin at any time in her career either.

Though, she thought to herself, she was better at being a fighter ninja than Itachi was at being a medical ninja. That thought put a grin on her face.

* * *

><p>"You know, we never did finish our conversation," Sakura remarked. The two of them were relaxing on her couch, both reading books. Itachi glanced up, momentarily confused at what she meant. Sakura clarified, "You remember, this morning. You told me I was trying too hard, and then never got to explain what you meant." Night was falling and Sakura never had heard from Naruto about going out for ramen, so she and Itachi had eaten dinner together, deciding to relax for the rest of the night. Sakura could only assume that Naruto would speak to her tomorrow.<p>

"Oh. That." Sakura could tell from Itachi's tone that it wasn't a conversation he really wanted to continue. He sighed, closing his book. "I meant that you did not have to try so hard to hide your true feelings. You were apologizing for crying, and then with the way you were regarding me, it was as if you were trying to only view me as a patient." Sakura frowned, her own book closed as she focused on him. "While I understand that I'm not the easiest person to live with," the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a humorless smile, "I'm not so condescending as to judge a woman who cries in her own home, off duty. I also don't think that our living arrangements will be overly favorable if we try to only regard one another as patient and doctor."

"I... thought that was how you thought of me," Sakura defended. Itachi shook his head.

"Only when you are acting as my doctor. Other than that, I regard you as you are, Sakura-san. We are roommates, and considering that I agreed to live with you for some time until you have enough information to complete your jutsu, I assume that we should try to get along with each other."

"So... you didn't get mad at me crying?" her voice wavered slightly, as if she was nervous for asking the question.

"No. But I am not one to comfort others. I suggest, though, that we try to treat each other as normally as possible."

"So... like friends?" Itachi's jaw tightened, nearly unnoticeable, but Sakura recognized it as his tell sign of discomfort.

"If that is what you wish to call it... then yes. Friends." He rolled the word on his tongue, acting as if it were a piece of unfamiliar candy. Which, Sakura figured, it would be. Did Itachi have any friends? Had he ever had friends?

Sakura smiled lightly to herself. There was always a first time for everything.

"Then friends is what we'll be," she murmured softly, smiling. His eyes widened a fraction, but he regained his composure, nodding.

"Of course," his regular toneless voice replied. "Friends." Sakura thought for the briefest second that he had smiled slightly. But blinking, seeing his expressionless face, she figured she was simply imagining things.

* * *

><p>"Neji-san! Would you like to come in?" He nodded, stepping into Sakura's house. It was early outside, and Neji realized he probably should have sent word beforehand for what time he would arrive to spar with Arata. "Arata is taking a shower right now. He'll be down shortly. I'm making breakfast; have you eaten?"<p>

"Yes," he murmured, noting Sakura's damp hair and casual clothes. It looked like she had just gotten out of the shower, too.

"Tea, then? Juice, milk, hot chocolate? Water? Anything of the sort?" Sakura's smile was light as she led him into her kitchen.

"Tea is fine," he replied. Sakura nodded, turning her back on him to make it. Neji took in the scents of the kitchen, noting the rice, miso soup, and what seemed to be grilled fish. Sakura was making a traditional breakfast. For some reason, that brought a bit of a grin to his face. He never expected anything traditional with Sakura. A few minutes later, Sakura handed him his tea. She turned back to the stove to finish breakfast.

Itachi finally appeared as Sakura was sitting the different bowls of food on the table. He glanced at Neji, nodding his head in acknowledgment. Neji stood up, having finished his tea, and looked at the new ninja.

"I will be at Training Ground 3. Please be there as soon as you can."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay and eat?" Sakura offered once more, wondering why he hadn't left her the message to tell Itachi.

"No, thank you." Neji bowed his head as a farewell, looking back up at Sakura. "Thank you for the tea; I will see you both there soon." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"He could have just told me the message," Sakura muttered, poking at her rice. Itachi gave her an amused look, but said nothing, turning to eat his own food. They both finished quickly, and after Itachi had washed the dishes (he had told Sakura that he would like to do _some _things to help around the house, so she agreed to let him wash the dishes), the two traveled to the meeting grounds.

It was a shock to see not just Neji there, but a whole gang of people. Sakura noticed Tsunade first, which she supposed made sense, considering Tsunade had to judge whether or not Itachi was fit to be a jounin. Shizune was, of course, by her mentor, holding Tonton. Naruto and Hinata stood beside Tsunade, but beside Naruto stood someone Sakura wasn't expecting to see- Kakashi. All five greeted them as they approached the field.

"Hey, guys," Sakura greeted, her mind reeling as to why Kakashi would be there too. She couldn't even begin to _imagine _why. There was only one way to figure it out- the direct approach. "Why are you here?" The question was directed more towards Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata, though her eyes focused sharply on Kakashi.

"We wanted to see if he passed or not," Naruto commented, offering Sakura a smile. It was hesitant, as if wondering if she was really not angry with him. Sakura smiled back at him, her smile reassuring him that she wasn't mad at him from their last encounter.

"And I've wanted to meet him. I've heard about the Itachi look-alike. I couldn't help but wonder if he fought like him too," Kakashi remarked, his tone light and airy. But it had the opposite effect on Sakura. Her nerves felt frozen. Of course Arata would fight like Itachi. A person couldn't change their fighting style, and anyways, almost all Uchihas fought the same way, considering their Sharingan-

Sharingan...

Sakura cursed mentally. And then sent a few more curses through her head- a chain of curses, really. Every expletive she could think of, twice, went through her head.

She had forgotten to disable Itachi's Sharingan. Now, when he fought (and there was no doubt that Neji would use his Byakugan), his dojutsu would be noted. Sakura rubbed her forehead, feeling a massive headache form. And of course, there was Kakashi standing there, who would _definitely _recognize Arata's fighting style as being the _exact same _as Itachi's.

There was only one thing she could do. And that was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why deny the fact that Arata's fighting style mimicked Itachi's? Why try to find an excuse about Arata's odd eye chakra? Sakura just wouldn't mention anything about it. The best solution was to do nothing. Kakashi, Tsunade, Neji- all of them could figure out that Itachi and Arata were one in the same. But they couldn't prove it; and Sakura had offered them undeniable proof that Itachi had been dead, considering the fact that Kabuto had revived him during the war. No one would even imagine that Sakura had revived the dead. Or even if they would, they would assuredly brush the idea aside, thinking that it was impossible. And then in the end, they would just have to conclude that Arata and Itachi were two different people, no matter their similarities, because there was no way that Itachi could be alive.

And unless anyone could confront her with the proof that she had revived Itachi (granted, all they would have to do would be to take a glance through her medical journals in her desk at home), she could just deny it. Or avoid answering the question. Sakura was good at evasive tactics.

"Arata-san, are you ready?" Neji asked, already lowering himself into a fighting position. Itachi nodded, walking out to face Neji with an air of confidence. Sakura nearly groaned at Itachi's inborn smugness. She knew there was a definite rivalry between the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, and Itachi had no hesitation in beating said rival clan's prodigy. Despite killing his clan, he was still an Uchiha. Some traits never went away.

"I am," Itachi replied, sliding into his own stance. Tsunade nodded, exchanging a sideways glance to Kakashi. Sakura couldn't help but note Kakashi's tightened jaw and his intense gaze at Arata. He was definitely there to confirm whether or not Arata was Itachi. Which meant Tsunade had suspicions about Arata's similar looks to Itachi. Sakura felt something sink to the bottom of her stomach. It wouldn't be long until Tsunade confronted her about Arata's _real _identity then.

"Begin," Tsunade's voice rang out. Neji had yet to activate his Byakugan, but Sakura could assume that Itachi's Sharingan was activated, though hidden under the blue contacts. Neji would be in for a rude awakening if he didn't use his bloodline technique.

To her surprise, it was Itachi that made the first move. He wasted no time in moving deftly behind Neji, his speed shocking the ANBU captain. Neji instantly activated his Byakugan, whirling around to meet Itachi's blow. But, of course, Itachi had expected Neji's move, and was already moving to counter it. His feet swept low, and while Neji avoided, it definitely set the tone for the battle. Neji's stance had become much more guarded, having realized that Arata was no ordinary ninja from another village.

Itachi attacked again, his fingers blurring in jutsu combinations. Fire shot from his mouth, while he simultaneously produced shadow clones. Neji's Gentle Fist technique was being utilized, and thankfully for the ANBU captain, his speed was nearly as great as Itachi's, meaning he could dodge the fire blasts. His palm hit one of the three Itachi's, but it exploded in a burst of flames, sending Neji skidding back on his heels and hands.

Neji blew a rogue strand of hair out from his face, his eyes creased in concentration. Itachi was waiting, calm and unflustered. Despite Itachi's strong beginning, Neji was not known as the Hyuuga Prodigy for nothing. Regaining his footing, Neji moved nimbly, his fingers jutting out to hit Itachi's chakra points. Itachi dodged most, but one jabbed him in the arm, effectively shutting off Itachi's chakra to his left arm. At least momentarily. It didn't matter, though. Itachi and his clone came at Neji at once, sending a fierce combo of punches and kicks to the Hyuuga. He countered each attack, their limbs moving at a lightning speed.

Until Itachi's clone suddenly exploded; Itachi had detonated his own clone near himself, obviously throwing Neji off guard. Itachi dodged the blast effortlessly, flipping up into the air. Neji wasn't nearly as graceful, but managed to dodge the major impact of the blast, still taking damage to his arm. Itachi landed on his feet, still without a sign of being ruffled in the slightest at the fight.

Neji stood up, his eyes cold. Immediately he charged towards Itachi, going into a mantra of his clan's techniques. To any other ninja, seeing the full force of the Hyuuga Clan Gentle Fist techniques would be devastating. Rarely anyone could stand up to that type of force, especially with the graceful attacks and clean, bending chakra that they used to attack with. But Itachi was no ordinary ninja, and one thing he had to appreciate from his upbringing was that they trained him how to fight a Hyuuga.

In all actuality, Neji was doomed from the beginning merely because he was a Hyuuga fighting an Uchiha. Or more like, fighting _the_ Uchiha Itachi, strongest Uchiha alive since Madara Uchiha. Itachi knew the basic forms for the Hyuuga attacks and could easily counter them and avoid them. He knew what to expect when Neji's poses changed, or when his chakra bent in a different way. His eyes allowed him to carefully monitor Neji's chakra and allowed him to predict his attacks easily.

So when Itachi came at him from behind, even though Neji could see him because of his 360 degree vision, it did not matter. Not only could Itachi feint an attack that made Neji dodge and attack back, but Itachi could dodge said attack and then retaliate.

Sakura bit her lip, watching as Itachi's foot caught Neji in the ribs. She winced, knowing that the impact had to have broken a rib or two. The fight was fierce; despite Itachi's obvious advantage, Neji was no push-over. He was one of the strongest ninjas in the village, rivaling Naruto, Sai, even Kakashi. He was easily the strongest Hyuuga and his mastery over his Byakugan was legendary. For any other foe, Sakura was sure Neji would have won. But, again, it was Itachi. And Neji didn't even know that Itachi had the Sharingan (he might have suspected that there was some type of eye technique Arata had, but he had no idea that it was the mastered form of the Sharingan).

Sakura winced again, seeing Itachi land another hit on Neji. She flinched, though, when Neji managed to retaliate and get a clean shot at Itachi's stomach using his Gentle Fist technique. The impact was so hard that it even brought blood to Itachi's mouth. That was some serious internal damage. The attack, though, only seemed to fuel Itachi on, so that his next few attacks were swift and strong, each making a mark on the Hyuuga.

The two broke apart, Neji's breaths coming out in short pants, while Sakura noticed a bit of sweat marring Itachi's face. It wasn't as easy of a battle as he had expected, she bet. Then again, Itachi wasn't exactly up to full par. Perhaps Neji would have already been beaten if Itachi's speed and muscles were more flexible and back to their normal standards.

Again they attacked one another, Neji slipping down into an Eight Trigrams Palm attack. His attack was ferocious, his hands hitting and hitting at Itachi so quickly that they blurred. They broke apart again, and Sakura noted that even Itachi hadn't been able to dodge all of the ferocious palm strikes.

"108 strikes," Kakashi told the group. Sakura glanced over to see Kakashi's headband lifted, allowing his Sharingan to follow the movements of the battle. "But he only hit six times," Kakashi murmured. That sent a chill through Sakura, realizing that Itachi had dodged over one-hundred of Neji's thrusts. Her roommate was incredibly fast. She would have to get him to teach her how to dodge like that.

Tsunade let out a low whistle, obviously as impressed as Sakura was.

"Shouldn't you call off the fight, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked lowly. "I mean... they look they're going to try and kill each other." Tsunade grinned, shaking her head.

"If Arata had wanted to kill Neji, he would have done it a long time ago." By Tsunade's tone, Sakura had a feeling that Tsunade had caught onto Arata's little identity secret. "Let them fight a little more. Neji needs a good challenge every so often."

Again, the two attacked one another. This time, it looked like Itachi had the upper hand. His swift kick sent Neji up into the air, but Itachi wasn't willing to let Neji go so easily. He jumped up, appearing above Neji. Neji managed to raise his arms to guard Itachi's downward strike, but it was enough force to send Neji back into the ground. Neji gasped hitting the ground with enough force to send small cracks through the rocks. Blood trickled down both sides of Neji's mouth, his arms trembling as he pushed himself up.

Itachi attacked again, his fist delivering a swift punch into Neji's already cracked ribs. Sakura heard a painful gasp and knew Itachi had just broken the rib further, likely puncturing Neji's lung. Sure enough, Neji's gasping breaths confirmed what Sakura had thought. She swiftly turned to Tsunade, expecting the Hokage to call off the match.

Her head swiveled back when she saw Neji take a staggering step, his hands raised back in the Gentle Fist position. Itachi slipped back into his own fighting stance, a brow raised at Neji. Neji charged at Itachi, chakra surrounding his fist.

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Neji-nii-san!"

"Baa-chan!"

"Enough!"

All five cries were simultaneous; Kakashi was the only one to not utter a sound. Shizune and Sakura had hands glowing with medical chakra, both prepared to intercept Neji's attack, knowing his condition was now fatal. Hinata and Naruto had also realized Neji's state was perilous, both ready to break up the fight. It was Tsunade, though, that had issued the command for the battle to end. Neji heeded her command, dropping his arms to his sides, turning off his Byakugan.

Three seconds later, he fell to the ground, barely conscious. Shizune and Sakura were already over him, both nins working without words, knowing what had happened. Sakura ripped open his shirt, while Shizune was the one to heal him. Tsunade stood over both nins, nodding.

"Sakura, heal Arata. Shizune can deal with Neji." Sakura looked up, confused at Tsunade's request. Tsunade could easily heal Itachi, but Sakura didn't press her mentor, instead relishing in her luck that Tsunade had told her to heal Itachi. She didn't want Tsunade to ever check Itachi's chakra pathways because her mentor would assuredly realize who Arata really was- well, have undeniable proof of who Arata really was.

Sakura rushed over, pressing her hands on Arata's chest. Neji had done some serious damage on the man- his internal organs were wrecked. Sakura almost groaned, knowing it had taken her long hours to restore those organs. Luckily, Neji hadn't hit Itachi's lungs or kidneys, the two organs that Sakura had restored the most. She healed, mending the tears inside easily.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, her eyes flickering up to his. Itachi nodded, his eyes staring out at Shizune and Tsunade healing Neji. "He'll be fine," Sakura murmured. Itachi nodded again, his eyes finally flickering down to her.

"I did not mean to do so much damage," he told her, his voice hardly audible. "It escalated beyond what I expected." She could tell he was frustrated from the lack of control the fight had spurned from him.

"It's been a long time since you sparred like this," she told him, her voice equally as soft. His gaze flickered from her, turning to look at the slowly approaching Kakashi. Sakura lifted her own gaze, slowly standing up and dusting off her skirt. She adjusted herself so she was standing between Itachi and Kakashi, as if trying to shield them from one another.

"That was a very impressive battle, Arata-san," Kakashi said mildly, smiling beneath his mask. Sakura regarded her sensei warily. "Don't look at me like that, Sakura. My intentions are noble; promise." Kakashi held up his hands, as if offering a peace treaty of some sort. Sakura nodded, trying to smile, though her eyes still held her suspicion. "You're beyond impressive for someone not formally trained. It's a little unnerving, really."

"Sensei..." Sakura began, her tone warning. She knew what he was going to insinuate.

"Thank you," Itachi replied, cutting off Sakura's warnings. She glanced over at him, holding his gaze silently for a few seconds. His face was unreadable, so she could only assume that he was trying to tell her that everything was under control. She bit her lip, watching Kakashi and Itachi look at one another. It looked as if Kakashi was going to say something, but all three were distracted at Hinata's voice.

"Neji-nii-san, are you sure you should be getting up already?" The three turned to look over, seeing the ever stubborn Neji already on his feet. He marched straight towards Itachi, and though Sakura wanted to keep in front, she felt from the look of determination in Neji's eyes that it would be better for her to move out of the way. Sakura stepped to Itachi's side, allowing Neji to come up to face him.

"At some point, I would like a rematch," Neji told him stonily. The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upwards, but he nodded. "That was... a great spar. You could easily be an ANBU Captain. You're a superb warrior, Arata-san."

"Thank you, Hyuuga-san." Neji nodded, turning around to face Tsunade. The two talked quietly for a few minutes, finally ending with a decisive nod from Tsunade. The imposing Fifth Hokage walked over to Arata, eyeing him up and down.

"There is no question to your ability. I will promote you to jounin, and I do request you submit an application for ANBU. I'll be giving you a mission in the upcoming week; expect it. And, no, Sakura, you will not be going with him. You've spent too much time away from the hospital. There won't be any missions for you for some time," Tsunade told her apprentice, giving her a stern look. "As the head medical ninja of the village, head nurse of the hospital, and director of the hospital, you've got more responsibility here in the village than you do outside the village on rudimentary missions." Sakura knew Tsunade could tell she was worried about letting Arata go on a mission. Tsunade shook her head, her decision final.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Sakura murmured. Itachi glanced down at Sakura, seeing her hesitation. Lightly, he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a barely noticeable squeeze. She knew that he was telling her he could take care of himself. Still, it didn't stop her from worrying. After all, she hadn't separated from him since she had dug his dead body up from the ground. Letting him out on his own so soon made her wary, but she knew she would have to do it eventually. If her jutsu was to be a success, then she couldn't keep him locked up indoors forever.

"Shizune, let's go. Neji, you should take the rest of the day off. Take it easy today. That is an order. Good job, Arata-san; you made a good choice, Sakura." Tsunade walked away, Shizune following. Neji slipped away to speak with Hinata quietly, and a few moments later, Neji, too, left the area.

That left Sakura, Itachi, Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi in an almost awkward, tense silence. Sakura was finally the one to break it, giving an uneasy laugh. "How about if we all go celebrate at Ichiraku?" It was a peace offering to Naruto. Sakura glanced at him, her eyes pleading. "Arata's never been there." Of course, Itachi had been there before, but it still had been several years since then.

Naruto seemed to read her expression, and much to her happiness, his eyes lit up and a wide smile spread across his face. "Of course, Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan, will you come, too?" Hinata nodded, smiling up at the blonde. "Kakashi-sensei? What about you?" Kakashi gave a light shake of the head.

"Unfortunately, I have business elsewhere. It was nice to meet you, Arata-san. And nice to see you again, Sakura. Ah, later." And as was customary, he disappeared in a poof of smoke. Sakura and Naruto shrugged, and then all four turned to walk to the ramen stand. Sakura fell into an easy step beside Naruto and Itachi, smiling lightly.

"I wanna spar with you sometime, Arata," Naruto remarked, looking over Sakura's head at the taller man. Itachi nodded, curious to see how much Naruto's abilities had grown. After all, Sakura had told him that Naruto was the one to defeat Madara.

Somehow, the four of them (well, mostly three of them, with Itachi speaking only when spoken to) managed to fall into easy conversation. Funnily enough, most of it was directed towards Itachi; Naruto's endless questions of how he had managed to make a clone with fire, how he had become so fast, where he had met Sakura, how they had met, what was his old village like, and just more and more questions that never seemed to end.

At least they were friendly with one another. Itachi seemed to have gained Naruto's respect with his fighting skills. Hopefully the two would have a peaceful relationship; after all, Naruto was her best friend and Itachi was her roommate. The three of them would likely be seeing each other as a group.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura glanced up from her bowl of ramen, her brows lifting to look at Naruto's suddenly serious face. "I'm sorry about... about the other day." Sakura had wondered which one of them would approach the topic first. She shook her head, smiling at him.

"No, I should be the one to apologize. I never realized... what I've done." Her voice had lowered considerably, and thankfully, she noticed Hinata and Itachi both looking away. "You've always been there for me, and I just never realized how much I've pushed you away these past few years. You're right," her eyes met his, "these emotional scars have left me changed. And while I'm not upset at my progress, I am upset at what has happened between us. Sometimes, it was just so hard... to see you, knowing Sasuke was in the village, and yet... yet not be a team. To know that I didn't want to be a team, while you did. I hated that feeling. So I pushed you away, wanting to make you choose Sasuke over me. But you never have. You've always been there for me." Sakura smiled, hugging him suddenly.

"S-sakura-chan..." He was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around his best friend. She smiled, looking up at him.

"However," suddenly her voice changed back to that dangerous sweet-as-honey-but-really-really-deadly tone, "I will not tolerate you being rude to Arata. I want us all to be friends, okay? He... It sucks to be lonely, right?" Her smile was forced, trying to cover up a deeper meaning to her words. _It sucks to be lonely, right?_ Naruto would understand. Loneliness, pain, secrets... Itachi and Naruto were more similar than they thought. They would work well together. _Maybe._

"Yeah. It does." Naruto's small smile back encouraged Sakura. Naruto wouldn't let someone else go down the same path he had. Naruto understood. Understood her meaning.

"Hey, Arata!" Itachi's head rose to look at Naruto. Naruto smiled brightly. "What are you doing tomorrow? Wanna spar?" It was Naruto's way of trying to apologize for their meeting the other night. Itachi understood, sliding his eyes towards Sakura. She smiled, tilting her head in such a way that he understood she was nodding.

"Sure, Naruto-san. That sounds fine."

"Call me Naruto!" Sakura glanced over at Hinata, who was wearing an equally relieved grin as the one on Sakura's face. Maybe Naruto and Arata would get along. Sakura could only hope.

* * *

><p>"I swear to God, Naruto, you never know when to quit." Sakura's hands were pressed to his chest, mending internal bones. "Arata, are you holding up?" Itachi, sitting on the other side of her, nodded. "Good." Sakura continued her mumbling about over exuberant, ridiculously strong ninjas who hated to lose and never knew when to give up. Their spar was ridiculous- in the end, Sakura had to split the ground to get both of them to stop before Naruto went into his Kyuubi chakra mode and before Itachi used his big jutsus on Naruto (like his Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu). The two were escalating the fighting much too quickly, and while it wasn't with killing intent, she knew it was going to be a <em>bitch<em> for her to heal both of them.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Sakura glanced up, her hands stalling, recognizing the voice as Kotetsu's. "They need you at the hospital! A group of shinobi came in and they need you right now!" Sakura stood up suddenly, nodding. She swept her hair back into a ponytail, looking over at Naruto and then Itachi.

"Of course. Naruto, you should be good enough to get home and rest. Arata, you know how to enter my house, right?" She was referring to her special chakra lock that only opened with a certain combination- it was essentially a key without the physical key. Itachi nodded. "I'll see everyone later!" Sakura dashed off, realizing that her life was returning to normal, despite having a new person enter into it. But that was a good thing. She was glad to feel a sense of normalcy settle back upon her life that felt like it had been turned upside down upon reviving Itachi. No, before that. Her life had been turned upside down since the moment she had read that scroll.

But it was beginning to twist itself back into its regular pattern. Sakura was grateful for that, at least.

* * *

><p>When she had arrived at the hospital, Sakura had known deep down that she would not be leaving the building for several hours. And by several hours, she knew that it would border on days. She had worked and worked, healing and repairing, all through the afternoon, night, and early morning hours.<p>

Only when she could see the bright morning sun did she finally decide to take a short break in her office. It felt, though, that as soon as her head hit her desk, sleeping soundly, that she was woken up by one of her frantic nurses. Barely having an hour of rest, Sakura pulled herself together, going back out for another round of healing.

The only time she stopped was to feed her crying body some type of sustenance. One meal and thirty-minute break later, Sakura was back in the operating rooms, plunging her hands in as many wounded as she possibly could.

It was late at night when she was finally given enough reprieve to drag herself home. Her entire body was covered in sweat and blood, her form sagged with exhaustion. Sakura was sure that even her hair, which she had tied up, was stained with blood. She transported home, knowing she had no energy left to walk home. It was nearing ten o'clock at night; briefly she wondered if Itachi was okay, since she hadn't seen him in over twenty-four hours. Sakura sighed, slowly unlocking her door and pushing it open, kicking it closed behind her as she entered her home.

The thought about Itachi was fleeting as she felt the limits of her body begin to give out on her. She saw her couch and managed to stumble to it, sagging into it with relief. She hadn't even bothered to take off her shoes, or medical uniform. _Too much effort._

"Sakura-san?" Itachi's low monotone called from the hallway. Sakura's eyes were closed, and she was pretty sure she was half asleep already, but she tried to give an affirmative to his question.

"Yeah," she called out, praying he heard her. She would not be moving from her couch any time soon. Even in her dulled state, she could still hear his feet pad across the hallway, and she recognized his subdued presence in the doorway. "Are you doing all right?" she mumbled out. It was still necessary to check on her primary patient, after all.

"I'm fine," he responded, moving closer to see her. "But you're not." _Definitely not, _she thought, her head sinking farther into her comfortable couch. "You'll get blood on the couch." She muttered something, sounding like, "I don't care; I'm not moving," but Itachi wasn't positive with the way the words slurred together. "You've pushed yourself to the brink again."

"It's not that unusual," she responded, feeling her body start to grow limp. _No energy left..._ "I'm just gonna sleep here," she muttered, feeling like she was ready to go to sleep any second. She barely heard his sigh, but when she was scooped up, she finally opened an eye. "What...? What are you doing?"

"You'll be uncomfortable if you sleep there, and in those clothes. You're a mess," he responded, his voice reverting back to its normal monotone. Sakura had no energy to protest and argue that she had been doing just fine before he ever came to live with her, and that she had slept on that couch plenty of times (and the floor, for the few times she had dragged herself in and simply crashed as soon as her door was shut). He carried her up the stairs, though when she expected him to deposit her on her bed, he made an abrupt turn for the bathroom, sitting her down on the closed toilet lid.

He worked soundlessly, wetting a wash-cloth, and stripping her out of her medical uniform. He left her only in her chest bindings and underwear, gently running the wet rag over her bloodied arms and body. Sakura paid him no mind, slowly dozing off.

"I have to wash your hair," he murmured in her ear. Sakura woke up enough to help him, slowly forcing her body to kneel over the bath tub. He turned on the faucet, guiding her head underneath the warm spray. Again, Sakura let herself fall asleep, his gentle fingers lulling her as they worked through her crimson-stained pink strands. After some time, the spray shut off, and Sakura felt herself picked up again. A towel was wrapped around her hair, loosely, and she was carried out of the bathroom and into her bedroom.

There he placed her on her bed, frowning as he took in her barely clothed appearance. Sakura could hear his muffled footsteps as he prowled around her room, likely looking for her night clothes.

"In the closet, on the floor," she muttered. He must have heard her and understood because a few seconds later, he was slipping a pair of old, faded shorts (that had been Naruto's) onto her, as well as sliding an old tank top over her. She settled back into her pillows, as he turned to leave. Before he could, though, Sakura rose up a few inches; her eyes surprisingly open as she looked at him. "Thanks, Itachi," she told him softly, dropping off the typical "-san" suffix. Before he could respond, she had fallen back on the pillows, sound asleep.

Itachi gazed at the kunoichi, almost curiously, before he walked out of her room, shutting her door. It was strange, he supposed, that he hadn't seen the woman in over twenty-four hours, and her first appearance was that she was covered head to toe in blood, her chakra nonexistent, and her body so fatigued that it looked like she wouldn't have made it another ten minutes. But, he mused, she probably would have made it for as long as she needed to at the hospital. For some reason, he felt like the words "break" and "rest" were not in Sakura's vocabulary when she was working.

But one of the strangest things about her, he realized as he slipped into his own bedroom, was the fact that she seemed to care about everyone else first before she thought about herself. After she had affirmed that she was the one home, the first words out of her mouth had been to ask how he was. And then, her last words to him were to thank him- she had even tried to sit up to thank him properly. He had noticed that trend with her, though, about how she seemed to be more concerned over everyone else before herself.

Maybe her devotion to others, especially the wounded and her friends, was what gave her such amazing talent as a medic. Maybe it was the reason she seemed to keep such incredible stamina and ability up when she was working days upon days at the hospital. Her determination and will power was assuredly some of the greatest out there, he had to admit. He wasn't sure he had ever heard of any other woman work so much like she did.

Itachi was beginning to realize more and more that the woman who had revived him was quite the ninja- maybe not in power, but definitely in medical jutsu. He was sure that it wouldn't be long until she surpassed her mentor- if she hadn't already. What type of crazy woman revives the dead just to give said dead person a second chance at life? She risked her life for a man she had never even spoken to, throwing herself full-heartedly into reviving him.

He could definitely say he respected the woman. How he had managed to get involved with her crazy schemes, he still wasn't entirely sure, but all in all, he knew he trusted her. Trusted, respected, admired... He even enjoyed her company and her willingness to be his friend. It was an odd sensation of having someone to call his friend, someone that knew plenty of his secrets, at that. He hadn't had someone he considered a friend since Shisui; Itachi was sure he had never had a female friend in his life before Sakura, either.

She was one of a kind; that was for sure. He respected her even more for the fact that she had managed to weave her way into his icy heart. It was certainly strange, but Itachi admitted he didn't mind being alive again, especially considering she was the one that had revived him. That kunoichi was a strange one- picking him. But he was glad she did.

After all, it wasn't so bad being alive when he finally had someone looking out for solely his desires. No clan, no wars, no unbearable expectations... All she wanted was his happiness and for him to live. It was easily the first time someone had expressed concern over what he had wanted to do. Sure, there were times when she wanted him to do certain things (like going along with her schemes of making Arata friendly and almost romantic towards her), but she had never really forced him to do something that he didn't want.

Maybe that was why he was so willing to help her and get along with her. Because she was the first person to offer him true friendship and companionship (excluding Shisui). He figured it would only be right to offer what he could in return.

Something tightened in his chest. He was making bonds with the kunoichi. Something he had despised in his past life after the death of his clan. But... it wasn't as bad as he thought. For some reason, he had the feeling that he would work harder to protect these bonds.

The tightness in his chest loosened and he was left with a strange mixture of relief and serenity. Maybe he had been wrong before- maybe bonds really could make a person stronger.

For once, he was willing to test this theory. Because he just couldn't find anywhere in him that wanted to sever the bond he was making with Sakura.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I finished another chapter!<strong><br>**  
>I don't remember what needs explaining on this chapter. My head is fried. I'll try my best.<p>

1. The genin test was based on what they did to Team Seven. Hinata's special test for Itachi was a variation on Kakashi's test. It was said somewhere that all the jounin test their genin to determine if they pass or not. The jutsus Hinata made Itachi execute were all academy level, as well.

2. Shisui and Sakura being Itachi's friends: Itachi does still have emotional scars from his Clan's massacre. He doesn't really like making friends because he's scared they'll end up like Shisui, too. That's why he went on that bond monologue towards the end. I figure it would be sorta hard for him to accept a new, peaceful life in Konoha since the last time he lived there, he lost his best-friend, his family, and his brother's love. He's coming around slowly. 'Kay? :)

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

****_Itachi seems to be settling into Konoha easily. He's making friends, getting promoted, doing what he always wanted. Sakura is thrilled with the success of her friend. But good times can't last forever. He's still an experiment and oftentimes, experiments have a tendency to go wrong. Sakura simply has to fix what she began. If only it was that simple, though._

_**Next Chapter: At the Top**_

__How ominous...!

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><p>I'm freaking tired. I may have missed something. I don't know. Just drop a review if you have any questions; or just drop a review to make my day! ;) I love all you guys for reading. You have no idea how delighted I am when I see Favorites or Alerts or Reviews for this story in my inbox. Even if I don't respond to every review, I do read each one! I love you all :3 <p>


	11. Chapter 11: At the Top

So, before I start this chapter, I want to address a very popular question I keep getting in reviews. It is: "When is Itachi going to talk to Sasuke?"/"Is Sasuke going to be appearing anytime soon?" I'm tired of answering this question in reviews, so I'll just say it here: Yes, Sasuke will be appearing later in the story. You can guess and predict whether or not Itachi will talk to him or not, but yes, eventually Sasuke will appear. I'm not going to tell you when- it could be this chapter, it could be next chapter, it could be five chapters from now, it could be ten chapters from now. I'm going to be tight-lipped on that. But, so I don't have to answer this question anymore, yes, eventually Sasuke will appear. You'll just have to wait and see when he does :)

One other issue I want to address before I begin is Yamato. If anyone has noticed, I've mentioned Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke... All of Team Seven has made an appearance or has been mentioned (I can't remember if Sai has made an appearance yet or not lol) except Yamato. I've purposely kept his status vague and his character out of this story simply because it's unknown if he's going to survive the Fourth War or not. He's been captured and he's being used as like tree fodder, or something. I don't really have high hopes for the guy, honestly, of surviving. That's why he's not really going to be mentioned in this story. You can decide if he's alive and just chilling around the village somewhere; he's dead; or he's on some long ass mission. I don't care. But I just thought I'd clear that up, too :D

All right, now, onwards to the chapter!

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><p><span>Chapter Eleven: <span>_At the Top_

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><p>During the three day period of Itachi's first mission, Sakura had been so worried she could barely do her duties at the hospital. Only when she was lost in the world of healing did she forget about her Uchiha roommate. The days had been tense, and every night she spent alone seemed worrisome. Sakura couldn't believe how fast she had adapted to his presence in her home, despite the fact that he had not lived (well, alive lived) with her for a week. With every small inflection in her body from when he used his chakra, and the farther and farther he traveled from her, the more worried she became.<p>

When he made it home, Naruto and Neji trailing at his heels, she had been immensely relieved. Surprising herself, she had thrown herself in his arms, sighing in solace that he had returned to her in one piece. He was shocked, too, at her sudden hug, but played it off, acting like Arata should.

From there, it was a steady incline of missions for him. Eventually, after the seventh mission or so, Sakura had lost that restless feeling. She expected his presence to be off and on in her home. Over the weeks and eventual months the two lived together, it was rare when they were both home at the same time. Sakura's fluctuating hours at the hospital, and Itachi's never-ending stream of missions led to them barely seeing one-another. Usually, Sakura had enough time to see him in-between missions, giving him a check-up, and able to make a fast conversation with him.

He had been living with her for a month when he was accepted into ANBU. It was less than a month after being accepted that he was promoted to the rank of captain. Once he was at the top ranks in the village, Itachi was gone more than ever. Surprisingly, though, it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. He was adapting quickly back into the Konoha lifestyle, gaining plenty of respect as he rose through the ranks and his name was spread around.

Itachi- Arata- had even seemed to make some friends in his wake. Besides herself, he seemed to have oddly befriended Naruto, had a gentle-kindness friendship with Hinata, somewhat of a tolerance-friendship with Sai, seemed to have some sort of mutual respect for Neji, and an odd shogi related friendship with Shikamaru. He was pleasant to all, though, and despite the endless comparisons between Arata and Itachi, most people generally seemed to agree that Arata was nice and kind and seemed to be nothing like the serious and reclusive Itachi Uchiha. Sakura could only roll her eyes at everyone, but she was secretly proud of how Itachi had made a bit of an effort to spend time with some people.

Of course, Sakura admitted, the few times that they both had time together, Naruto tended to drag him out with her. Along with Naruto would be Sai or Hinata. It was only a matter of time before Itachi befriended the people he tended to spend the most time with. More so, Sakura noted that Itachi was usually sent out on missions with Naruto (well, whenever he did team missions. Often, it seemed he was sent out on solo missions) or Neji (at least for the harder missions). Besides those two, Sakura noticed that he seemed to shift through teams, fitting with team that was most fitting for the mission.

It had been three months since he had been brought back to life. It was funny to think that it had been so long, too, Sakura mused. She had expected that within the first week, Tsunade would call her in and confront her about Arata's true identity. But Tsunade had never mentioned anything about it, so Sakura could only assume that Tsunade hadn't realized who Arata really was, or decided that Itachi was no harm to the village. Either way, it worked for Sakura. And it was a good call, considering how efficient Itachi was at missions. Ever since he had gotten rid of his disease, gotten new eyes, and his normal standards of stamina and speed had returned, he had become an unnatural force to be reckoned with. Sakura had heard the rumors of him- the man wearing the black cat mask was said to be the representation of death.

Black cat mask... Sakura still giggled at his mask choice. He had wanted a crow or raven, feeling it was more like him (he also said that was what his original mask was when he was younger) but they both agreed that would be too obvious. Sakura had suggested a weasel mask, to fit with his true name's meaning, but he had merely glared at her, quickly shaking his head. Eventually, Sakura came up with the idea of the cat (with black stripes instead of red, she had told him) because it just seemed to work for him, since the black cat tended to be linked with superstition and bad luck. Admittedly, she told him, she had always wanted to use the idea if she were ever to join ANBU, but since she had no plans to ever try for it, she figured he could steal her idea. Besides, it would never work with her pink hair.

Sakura had been worried when he was snatched up into ANBU. But he was doing so good- there didn't seem to be any flaws with her jutsu- that she had tried to let her fear die out. It finally had, but she still couldn't deny how relieved she felt every time he came home in one piece. Rarely did he have injuries. Oftentimes, he would come home to find her sprawled on the couch, too tired to make it up to bed (Sakura had finally realized that she tended to exhaust herself at the hospital when he was on missions; probably her own defense mechanism- by focusing so much on something else, she could forget that Itachi was gone. It wasn't healthy, she knew). Much like the first time he had found her on the couch, he always carried her upstairs and deposited her on the bed (if he wasn't too tired, he would wash her and change her clothes too).

The first time he had done that, and Sakura had woken up and realized what had happened, she was mortified. She had apologized and thanked him endlessly, until he finally explained that it wasn't a bother to him to help her after she had helped him so much and for so long. After the third or fourth time he had brought her upstairs, she had gotten over her embarrassment. It was just easier to feel grateful for what he was doing, instead of ashamed of her weakness.

They had become good friends, Sakura would say. If she named the most important people to her, he would easily make the top five. And she had the strangest feeling that she was the most important person to him at the moment, at least if she ignored Sasuke. But he had hardly ever mentioned his little brother, especially never once expressing any interest to visit him. She could only imagine that he was still upset at the way Sasuke had turned out, so he had no desire to see his brother. She couldn't say for sure, though, as she never knew what was running through Itachi's mind.

Still, he was good enough a friend to celebrate her twenty-second birthday with her and her friends. That had surprised her; he agreed to come with her when Naruto and Ino dragged her away to celebrate at some type of bar-restaurant place. Even more surprising was how many people came to celebrate, besides Naruto, Hinata, Sai, Ino, and Itachi. They had managed to drag Kakashi along, convinced Tsunade and Shizune to stop by for an hour or two, and managed to get most of Rookie Eleven to come too. It was a great party, until too much sake was passed around. Naruto, Lee, and Kiba all got drunk and Sakura had to put her foot down (literally) to stop the three. Besides that, though, her birthday was fun. Itachi had even been kind enough to buy her a beautiful set of kunai that were specially made for being used in conjunction with poison. He had even had small cherry blossom flowers engraved into each handle. They were beautiful and Sakura was looking forward to testing them out at some point.

Of course, with the lack of missions flowing her way, Sakura wasn't sure when she'd be able to try them. Tsunade seemed to have her permanently restricted to hospital duty. It was a sad existence with nothing to fill her days but the hospital.

Sakura let out a long, frustrated sigh, stretching her body out on the couch. Itachi lowered his book slightly, looking over at the pinkette. This was one of the rare times that they were both home together, relaxing. Itachi didn't have another mission (_yet) _and Sakura was off her shift from the hospital at a relatively decent hour. Both had eaten and were resting comfortably at their favorite place- Sakura's couch.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked mildly, his eyes flickering back down to his book. Sakura let out another groan, letting her head fall back against the couch.

"It's been months since I've had a mission anywhere. The last time I was out of the village was months ago; to rescue a team of our ninjas and get them back to the hospital. That was before you were even alive."

"Have you requested any missions?" She huffed, looking up towards the ceiling.

"No, but I'd feel bad for requesting missions. I mean, I know my place is really at the hospital. Tsunade-sama is the Hokage, so she can't run it; Shizune is her assistant and she covers for me on my days off... I would feel bad to take a mission, I guess. What if something happens and they need me here? They have plenty of able-bodied kunoichis already, so unless a mission specifically needs my talents, I feel like I'd be doing wrong by not being where I'm really needed." Sakura sighed again. "Still, I feel claustrophobic for being stuck in the same place for so long. I want to escape into the outdoors and have a taste of adventure." Itachi gave her an amused glance, though he opted not to respond.

Sakura stretched across the couch, so that her head was nearly touching Itachi's thigh. She looked up at him, her mouth set in a strangely solemn line. He ignored her, continuing to read. It was a few moments before she began to talk, trying to gather up her courage and thoughts to pose her questions in the appropriate manner.

_Hopefully he won't get upset._

"Hey, Itachi-san...?" Itachi's eyes flickered down, looking to meet her pale jade irises, which fluttered away upon making the contact with his. "May I ask you something?" Her voice had lowered considerably. Itachi instantly knew that the conversation was not something that was going to be comfortable for either of them. "I've... I've thought about this for a long time. Ever since I revived you. Would you be willing to tell me everything? I mean... about the Massacre and... and Akatsuki... and stuff..." her voice trailed away. She knew she was broaching on extremely personal subjects for him, but she couldn't help but wonder. Itachi had been close-lipped about anything relating to family, Akatasuki, or practically anything in his past. Granted, Sakura hadn't asked too much about it, figuring it was too personal for him.

He stared away from her for a few minutes, his blue eyes focusing intently on the window. Sakura waited, knowing he was going to respond soon enough. His voice came a few minutes after she had asked her question, as she had expected.

"I will tell you... eventually." He said no more, and Sakura noticed from the way his lips were pressed together in the subtlest way, that he was confirming that he would speak nothing more on the subject. Sakura nodded, fighting back her urge to sigh.

"Thank you." She laid there a few more minutes, while Itachi had started to read again. Sakura was contemplating taking a short nap or getting out her medical book on herbs to study, when Itachi spoke up.

"What about you?" he asked, lowering his book a few inches to look at her. "Your family," he clarified. Sakura nodded, comprehending his question. While she did have several pictures of her parents and family along her walls, not once had she mentioned them to him, nor had she brought them over to meet him in the three months he had lived there. Sakura sighed, closing her eyes.

"My parents are alive, if that's what you're wondering. We just... don't really interact all that much anymore. I moved out when I was eighteen, though to be fair, we really hadn't communicated much since I had graduated the Academy, despite still living in their home. My father was a ninja at some point in his career... He never rose past the ranks of chuunin, and even then, he barely scraped by being a chuunin. There was nothing remarkable about him- his abilities were mediocre at best. He was decently intelligent, able to do basic skills with ninjutsu and taijutsu, but he was usually put on the mundane jobs around the village. My mother was a civilian, from an unremarkable family, at that. She worked in tea houses and cooked a lot." Sakura frowned, her mouth twitching into some mixture between displeasure and mocking amusement.

"They were regular people, really. Everything about them is... _average_. Once I was born and expressed interest in being a kunoichi, they both sort of shrugged and let me do whatever, I guess. They were decent and kind to me; I was never _unhappy_ with them, I suppose. I mean, I love my parents; they've always been kind to me. But my dad retired from being a shinobi shortly after my birth and just focused on living life with my mom. I think we just sort of... felt like we lived in two separate worlds, especially once I became Tsunade-shishou's pupil. I wasn't a regular kunoichi and they were just regular people. They never really understood and, I can honestly say, they never attempted to. They didn't resent me or anything, but it was never... we were never close." Sakura sighed. "I've never introduced you to them because they left Konoha as soon as I moved out. They had wanted to leave right after Pain's attack, but I refused to move with them. So they waited until I moved out and then left within the same month. I... haven't seen them since. We still write letters to one another, but that's the only way we stay in contact."

"I understand," he replied, though both felt like the atmosphere had become nearly tense and awkward. Sakura, not liking it, offered a smile up to him, her mind rushing through several different things she could say to ease the atmosphere.

She blurted the first thing that popped into her mind: "When you were in Akatsuki, did you actually have to sit down and paint your nails? I just can't imagine a whole group of S-class criminals chillin' in their rooms, painting their fingernails and toenails." Itachi's blank look slowly turned to incredulity at her question. He had to repeat it several times to make sure he had understood the question correctly.

"I-" he began, Sakura's eager eyes gazing up at him. He wasn't even sure how to explain. "...What?" he finally asked, completely bewildered at her asinine question.

"Did you actually use like a bottle of nail polish and sit down and paint your nails... like... like girls do? Or was it some type of jutsu or ink or something special?" He shook his head, finally feeling amusement in her question.

"It was..." Itachi wasn't even sure how to explain the nail polish that all the members wore. It had been so long, he could barely remember _why_ they had to wear it. "Yes, I did paint my nails." Sakura's eyes were clearly waiting for him to elaborate, but Itachi didn't honestly feel comfortable explaining that he would sit in inn rooms, taking out the black bottle, carefully painting each nail. It was just _something_ they did. It didn't mean... Why was she even asking such a question?

"Do you want to borrow some of my nail polish?" she asked slyly, looking up at him through her lashes. He shook his head, mutely, glaring.

"I didn't enjoy it, Sakura. It was just something we had to do." Her eyebrows quirked and he could tell from the still sly grin that she was not completely convinced. But before she could respond further, both turned towards her door, feeling the unmistakable surge of chakra. Someone had just appeared at her doorstep. He glanced back at the reclining girl and nodded. "I'll get it," he told her, knowing that it could easily be for either of them- him for a new mission, or her for a hospital emergency.

"Genji-san," the ANBU member greeted when Itachi opened the door. "Hokage-sama requires both you and Haruno-san in her office immediately. She said for you to be in uniform, and Haruno-san," the ANBU directed towards the woman who had appeared at Itachi's side, "she wants you to dress in all black. Do hurry, this is an emergency." With that, the ANBU poofed away, leaving Sakura and Itachi standing at the door. Both said nothing as they closed the door, rushing upstairs to change.

Itachi was, of course, dressed and ready before Sakura. He had his mask titled up, so that it wasn't covering his face yet. Sakura had changed into black capris, her typical black boots, and a black shirt that came down to her elbows. She was pulling on her gloves as she came down the stairs, and then tying up her hair with a black ribbon. Taking one look at her ANBU clad partner, she frowned, though didn't say anything until they were dashing across rooftops towards the Hokage Tower.

"What do you think she wants with both of us, this late at night?" Itachi glanced over at her, his mask securely in place so she could not see his face. "It's not often she tells me to dress in black, so I think we're going out into the field. If I were going to the hospital, I wouldn't have to report to her."

"I do not know," he finally replied to her first question. Sakura frowned again, knowing that his short answer was a way to shut her up. She let out a small huff of air, but said nothing else.

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><p>When the ANBU member had said that there was some type of emergency, Sakura had never expected what an... understatement that was. Three different platoons of ninja had been injured in the same area, all three converging to help one another deal with a particularly ferocious group of rogue ninja. It had escalated out of control and now Sakura was left with healing about fifteen different ninjas on the battlefield, while Itachi and three other ANBU members dealt with the rest of the ninja attacking them.<p>

It was... terrifying, really. Sakura knew the rogues were aiming for her and more than once, she had to turn around and send a few swift punches to the nins to get them away from her. Itachi was doing his best to protect her, but it was overwhelming. He was easily the strongest ANBU member there, so they tended to want him towards the front so that he could get rid of the enemy nins.

Sakura bit back a groan when a kunai grazed her arm, not stopping her flow of chakra to the young genin beneath her. That was the most horrible part of this entire situation- two of the squads had been genin teams with their jounin sensei. The third team had been comprised of only chuunin. None of the teams were prepared to deal with the rogue nins, who were easily jounin level or higher.

It had left a mess behind for her to clean up. There was only one chuunin who had managed to make it back to Konoha to request back-up for the teams. All six genins were in critical condition, but they couldn't move them back to Konoha until stabilizing them. The team of five chuunins was nearly as bad off as the genins. Only the fifth chuunin, the one that had made it back to the village, wasn't ready to die at any moment- and that was because he was in the Konoha Hospital by now. The two jounin had stayed behind to protect the genin and the other four chuunin, and while they were able to hold back the rogue ninjas long enough for the ANBU and Sakura to get there, they had taken heavy damage.

She pressed her hands back to the second genin's chest, trying to stem the blood flow. Another kunai whizzed dangerously past her ear. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to sew up the boy's chest with her chakra. There were only seven enemies still alive when they had gotten there. Sakura wasn't sure how many were left, but the forces had to be cut in half by now.

She moved to the next genin, seeing the nasty head wound lining the boy's forehead. Her hand pressed against his forehead, letting her chakra ease the wound close. Sakura was immensely surprised to see the boy's eyes flutter open as his wound closed.

"Lady Sakura..." he mumbled, closing his eyes again. "We're saved..." She gave a small smile, liking that the genin believed that since she was here, they would live. It made her want to work that much harder for them. They had so much faith in her- it was almost overwhelming.

"Go ahead and rest," she told him. "I'll get you home safely," she promised.

"I know... you... will." He fell unconscious again, and Sakura let her hand trail across his forehead, brushing back a strand of his curly brown hair. She couldn't let herself become distracted, though, so she stood back up, rushing over to the next body.

"Sakura!" Itachi's warning made her stop mid-step. With horror, she watched as one of the remaining three ninjas broke through the ANBU lines, rushing straight towards her.

_Does he think I'm some push-over? _

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, drawing chakra to her fist. She may only be a jounin but she was strong enough to beat a few nins back. The ninja didn't even know what hit him. Her fist was blinding, shattering his ribcage and rupturing his lungs upon impact.

His eyes widened in horror as he got a look at her face.

"Th-the Hokage's... You're..." He coughed once, twice, and the light faded from his eyes, as he slumped down. Sakura smirked, rushing back to her fallen comrades.

"That's right," she whispered, "I'm the legacy of the Fifth Hokage." They enemy hadn't been able to recognize her, due to the lack of light. After all, only her hair and bright eyes were her only distinguishing features. Without those, no one could recognize her. So of course they thought she was just a regular medic-nin. She almost felt bad for them.

At least until she looked down at the genin girl, seeing her bloody face. Sakura's anger returned and she almost paused in her healing to rip the rest of the enemy nins to shreds. How could they do such damage to a twelve year old girl?

"Haruno-san, we have finished here." One of the ANBU members, wearing a tiger mask, told her after several more minutes. She nodded, still looking down at the chuunin she was now healing. "We will leave Black Cat behind to protect you, and we'll take those that are able to be moved back to the hospital."

"No," Sakura told them, looking up. "The Black Cat is the fastest ANBU here. He also has incredible stamina. Therefore, he would be able to travel the fastest back and forth between here and the village. I wish for all four of you to take those that are stabilized back with you." Sakura looked over at Itachi (or Black Cat, as his code name was), who's eyes narrowed at her.

"You cannot be left here alone, unprotected," he told her.

"I can protect myself and those around me," she responded, feeling indignant at their obvious hesitation. "I am the Fifth Hokage's pupil! One hit from me can shatter bones!"

"If someone sneaks up on you, you'll be defenseless." Her eyes flashed with fury.

"I'm not so incompetent to be assassinated on the battlefield. My duty is to protect these shinobi, and the best way for them to be safe is back in Konoha. Many of them need to be in the hospital now. I've stabilized them, but it's not enough!" Sakura's eyes flashed down to the six genin, who were still pale from the loss of blood. "They... they need to be in a hospital. They need to have their wounds sterilized, and many of their bones are broken... I can't... They could die from complications if they aren't rushed there now!" Her voice had lowered to a hiss and her fist clenched as she glared at the four ANBU. "I have to heal the jounins and three more chuunin. The genins are all ready to be transported. I also have one more chuunin ready to go. I'm not going to waste anymore time talking- just get them to the hospital, _now_." Sakura whirled away, rushing over to another chuunin.

She wasn't sure who stayed behind or what the ANBU decided, but after healing the chuunin, Sakura realized she was left alone in the field. All six of the genin were gone, as was the healed chuunin. It was a bit eerie to be left alone, especially considering how dark the forest was. The only light given to the area was from the moon, and Sakura realized that the light was rather pathetic and creepy. She had never been afraid of the dark before, and she wouldn't start now, but there was no denying that her nerves were set on edge.

Sakura went to the next chuunin, healing the wound in his side. The battlefield was covered in blood, most from their side, and not too much from the enemies. All of the ninja she had healed were suffering from chronic blood loss. At least none of them had been poisoned- she wasn't sure how she had gotten so lucky, but she had.

She was healing the last chuunin when she felt pinprick sensations on her neck. Maybe she was paranoid, but as a shinobi, she had been trained to trust her instincts. And her instincts were telling her she was being watched. Sakura didn't falter in her healing, but remained highly alert, waiting for when the person would strike.

Almost unconsciously, she felt for Itachi's chakra and where he was at. He was quickly approaching, which she was immensely thankful for. At least she was correct when she said he was the fastest of the ANBU.

Her hand stalled when she heard the faintest sound of a twig cracking. Someone was definitely here. The owls had stopped hooting, as if to emphasize her belief that it was unnaturally quiet. Sakura glanced down at the female chuunin, finishing her work as she sealed up the chest of the ninja.

Sakura waited a few more seconds, trying not to tense her body in anticipation. She knew whoever was watching her was going to attack at any moment. Sakura stood up, stretching and cracking her bones. She tried her best to walk normally to the nearest jounin.

She leaned down, her fingers tingling with medical chakra. She heard the trees rustle and knew that was the only sign she had that the ninja had moved. Sakura waited, counting down mentally. At three seconds, she whirled around, expectant that her chakra-surged fist would meet the chest of her target.

But it didn't. There was no one there. Feeling very embarrassed and even more on edge, Sakura nervously smoothed down her hair, turning around to heal the jounin. Itachi would be back soon, and she was determined to have everyone healed so she didn't have to stay behind again. Feeling hyper-aware of everything going on around her, Sakura continued to heal the jounin. She tried not to, but at the slightest sound, her muscles would tense.

_Calm down._ She repeated it like a mantra, trying to flood out her paranoia by reciting how she could logically survive an ambush situation and still protect her patients. The tactic worked to calm down her panic, and soon enough, Sakura had finished healing the jounin. She made her way over to the last patient, surprised to see that the man was still hanging on to some consciousness.

"We'll be back in Konoha before you know it," she told him, offering a small smile. He didn't immediately focus on her, and she realized his eyes were glazed over, probably from pain and exhaustion. He was the last one of the original team to still be fighting once the ANBU had arrived. Sakura had to admire the man's determination- all his comrades had been knocked out and were dying, but he was still fighting to protect them, and to hold off all the other nins.

She placed both her hands on his stomach, healing the wound and letting her chakra filter in and heal his ripped liver. "You took some heavy damage," she murmured. Finally, he seemed to focus on her, as the pain was slowly ebbing away.

"There were eight enemies left when you got here." Sakura didn't immediately understand what he meant, and only nodded vaguely, continuing to mend his liver. Once her mind processed his odd statement, she stopped healing, too aghast to keep the steady stream of chakra going.

"_Eight?"_ she repeated. There had only been seven enemies they had fought when they had arrived. The man said nothing in response, but it didn't matter. Sakura bit her lip and could only hope that the enemy ninja wouldn't attack her. Sakura couldn't help but realize her chakra was quite low. Healing so many ninjas had taken her toll on her body, even though she still didn't feel exhausted.

Just a few more bursts of her medical chakra, and she had finished healing the man. "There, I've-" She heard the sudden shift in wind and the sound of feet hitting the ground. Her eyes widened as the jounin opened his eyes and mumbled something. Her ears strained to register what he said, but when it did, she felt her blood go cold.

_Behind you._

Sakura spun around, barely fast enough to keep the katana from piercing her throat. The enemy nin grit his teeth as the blade cut through her arm guards and entered her skin, but didn't kill her.

"I wondered when you'd show up," she hissed, staring intently at the masked ninja.

"You almost got me before," Sakura was thrown back a bit, realizing the nin she had assumed was male was actually a female. "No one ever senses me." Sakura grinned, licking her lips almost nervously, as she stared into the kunoichi's icy black eyes.

"Well, I guess I'm one of a kind, huh?" Sakura's eyes narrowed and she forced chakra through her arms, throwing the woman away from her. "Please, let me show you _why_, though." Sakura slammed her fist in the ground, thrilled upon seeing the ground crack and splinter as it split towards the woman. The kunoichi hissed, jumping up to avoid the blast. But she was no where near as fast as Itachi, and Sakura was immensely grateful for the regular sparring sessions she still continued with her roommate. Even if she had never managed to defeat Itachi, she had assuredly improved leaps and bounds by training with him.

Sakura was on top of the woman before she even knew what had happened. Sakura's punch skimmed the woman's side, as she perilously twisted mid-air to avoid Sakura. It was enough force, though, to crack a few ribs.

"You must have been the strongest out of your friends, huh?" Sakura asked, cracking her knuckles as both women faced off with each other. Sakura could see the smirk even through the black material that masked her face.

"I was, yes," she assented. "And it'll take more than a few cracked ribs to stop me from killing you, Sakura Haruno." Sakura smirked. There were no more words as both women charged at one another, exchanging punches and kicks. The woman sent a ferocious combo of kicks that made contact to Sakura's back; Sakura retaliated by flipping her body and propelling herself off the ground with her arms, letting her feet slam into the woman's chest.

They were back on the ground, Sakura's hands slashing with chakra, while the woman had two long kunai retaliating. At some point, Sakura managed to grab the mask and rip it off the woman, before the kunoichi sent a chakra-laden foot into Sakura's stomach, making her fly backwards. They stood up, Sakura panting and glaring, while the woman was starting to cough up blood from their encounters. Sakura felt smug realizing that her chakra blades had managed to sever some of her internal organs during their combat.

"You're really pretty," Sakura remarked, as the light from the moon hit the woman and gave Sakura a clear look at her appearance. She had long auburn hair, and the hair clips that had been holding it up on the top of her head fell out, letting it tumble into soft waves down the woman's back. Her eyes were black, but they were framed by long lashes and covered with thick black make-up. The woman was almost noble-looking- Sakura figured she could have easily been some type of model or something with her good looks.

The compliment made the woman sneer and she charged at Sakura, spitting out venomously, "Just because I am a woman does not mean I will fall for your flattery!" Sakura huffed, dodging the fist the woman threw at her, and responding with a sharp elbow to the woman's back.

"It was just a compliment, geez," Sakura told her, continuing her combo by kneeing the woman in the stomach and then kicking her away. However, she could understand the woman's offense. Sakura would have likely taken offense to the compliment if the situations had been reversed. Kunoichi were always looked down upon by others, and the fact that the strongest member of an already strong team had been a woman was something she would have wanted to hide because of the resentment from her teammates, likely. Especially because she was beautiful- they would have tried to treat her crudely, Sakura was sure.

A tingling sensation through her body alerted her that Itachi was quickly enclosing on the location. Sakura let out a breath of air, walking over to the woman. She was still conscious, but considering the blood pouring out of her mouth at an alarming rate, she wouldn't be for long.

"What is your name, Kunoichi?" The woman looked over at her, glaring. Sakura shook her head, lowering herself to the woman's side. "My teammates will be here within seconds; you will die in moments. My knee caved in your ribs and punctured your lungs. My chakra blades had already pierced your organs. You don't have long left. I just thought I would give you the recognition you deserved; it's not often to see such strong kunoichi." The woman closed her eyes and Sakura saw tears gathering in the corners of them.

"Sayori. My name is Sayori," she whispered. "Please, kill me now. I want it to be over." Itachi was there. Sakura could feel him, and then hear him as he stalked to her side.

"Sayori..." She looked up at Itachi, knowing he had heard the woman's request. "Do we need her interrogated?" Itachi shook his head curtly, and Sakura nodded. "Good bye, Sayori." It was simple for Sakura to send a few charges of chakra to the woman's heart and brain, giving the woman a relatively peaceful and painless death. Sakura sighed, looking down at the kunoichi, before she stood back up. The three other ANBU had arrived in the clearing.

"We need to get the three chuunin and two jounin back to the village now," Sakura remarked, suddenly beginning to feel the wariness that the extreme healing and intense fight had taken on her body. The three ANBU wordlessly picked up two nins each, leaving one ANBU only holding one nin. Sakura glanced over at Itachi, who had his blue eyes narrowed at her. "I can still walk," she mumbled, trying to take off into the forest.

She wanted to absolutely hate him when her legs gave out from underneath her after the two mile mark and he was right there to catch her (_expecting me to be too weak to finish the journey_, she hissed in her mind), but Sakura couldn't because she knew that he wasn't considering her weak, simply exhausted. He knew the limits of her stamina, after all, and he knew she had been pushing at them.

"You did have a full shift at the hospital today," he reminded her, seeing her stubborn glare, as he carried her through the trees. Sakura sighed, again knowing he was right but still hating him for it, and nodded.

"It seems like you're always carrying me somewhere after I collapse," she murmured, feeling unbearably sleepy. She felt a bit uncomfortable in his arms, not so much because she was in his arms, but more because they were flying through the air and dashing upon tree branches so quickly that it made her head spin if she even tried to look at her surroundings.

"I am always in the correct situation to carry you; that is all." Sakura rolled her eyes at his informal tone.

"Just coincidence then, huh?" She knew he had twitched his lips in exasperation at her. "How were the others? Was Shizune there to take care of them in the hospital?" Itachi nodded.

"She wanted me to inform you that you are to remain home and regain your stamina and chakra before you return to the hospital." Sakura smiled, nodding, almost cozying up to Itachi. She was able to stay half-alert, even when reaching the village.

"I need to go to the hospital," she mumbled. Itachi shook his head, tightening his grip on her.

"My orders are to take you home," he responded. "You will not go to the hospital and continue expending what minimal chakra you have." Sakura gave a soft laugh, closing her eyes, nodding.

"I thought I'd try, at least," she told him. "Those genin... I want to know how they... are."

"Shizune-san looked at them and said that you did a good job. Sakura," Itachi looked down at her, his mask glinting in the moonlight, "you are exhausted. The effort you are expending to keep yourself awake is unnecessary; I will not allow anything to harm you." Sakura laughed, still noticing, despite how tired she was, that he had dropped the "-san" from her name.

"Thanks, Ita- Black Cat." She had caught herself, especially seeing his glare through the mask. "Sorry," she whispered. Luckily, all the other ANBU members had split apart from them, heading towards the hospital.

"After I take you home, I must report back to the Hokage. I'll return home afterward- tomorrow, we can check on the patients." Sakura smiled, nodding.

"Thank you." Something about the fact that he was willing to go to the hospital with her, calling her home his... it gave her chest a bit of a warm feeling. She hadn't realized how much she had grown to appreciate his company, how much she began to value his opinion, but somehow, she had certainly grown close to him.

It was an assuredly good feeling. Sakura allowed herself to take comfort in the way his arms were holding her up- one hand beneath her knees, another holding her waist. They were warm and surprisingly gentle. She couldn't remember the last time she had been held like this... it was enjoyable.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, knowing that she was safe in his arms.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be home resting!" Sakura smiled, laughing lightly at her blonde-haired friend.<p>

"I didn't know you had duty today, Ino. We came to check on those ninja from last night." Ino nodded, smoothing down her medical skirt. Glancing up, she finally noticed the quiet, shadow-like Itachi.

"Oh, hiya, Arata-kun!" Ino winked at Itachi, obviously flirting with him. Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to fight down her instinct to stand in front of Itachi protectively. Itachi nodded his head in greeting.

_Leave it to Ino to flirt with any male that is sexy. No matter who he is._

"So, Ino-pig, can you take us to the nins?" Sakura huffed out her question, exasperated at Ino's obvious distraction.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, c'mon. They're doing really good. Shizune said that you did an excellent job, and that most of the work she did on them was relatively simple. Just some broken bones and stuff like that. It looks like you took care of all the internal wounds and all that."

"Well of course," Sakura told her, frowning. "I mean, I had to stabilize them for the trip home. I didn't want anything to go wrong when I couldn't stay with them." Ino nodded, leading the two through the corridors of the hospital.

"Oh, and I'm here today, Billboard-brow, because of you. Shizune called me in to fill in for you, since Tsunade-sama ordered you to stay home and rest. Since you had to go out and do that midnight emergency or whatever." Ino rolled her eyes. "Little miss hero."

"Jealous, you pig?"

"If only; after all, what do I have to be jealous of from you?" The two continued their banter down the hallways, until Ino finally gestured at one of the doors. Sakura nodded, Itachi following her inside. Ino followed the two in, sighing loudly when she saw Sakura pick up the clipboard for the patient.

"You're off duty, Forehead. Let the nurses that are getting paid, like me, check these things!" Sakura frowned, still not putting down the clipboard.

"You gave her the medication?" Sakura gestured to something on the board. Ino huffed, nodding.

"_Yes_, Sakura. I am not incompetent." Sakura nodded, finally putting down the board, taking in the sleeping genin. "This was the worst one. But she's doing fine, yeah?"

"It looks like it." Itachi came up behind Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder. She retracted her hand that was slowly inching towards the genin to check her vitals. "I know, I know, I shouldn't be checking her because she's in perfectly fine care. But it's habit." Sakura glanced over at Ino, seeing the blonde's mischievous smile and double raised eyebrows. "What?" Sakura asked, frowning suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Sakura knew that whatever Ino wanted to say, she would not, _thankfully_, say it in front of Itachi. Sakura gave Ino one more suspicious look, but glanced up at Itachi when he started to speak.

"We should check on the others." Sakura sighed silently, nodding to Itachi's suggestion. Ino led the two around the hospital, checking on the thirteen shinobi from the night before. Only two were awake- the chuunin that had originally came back to the village, and the jounin that had warned Sakura about the kunoichi who was going to ambush her.

"I wanted to thank you," Sakura told the jounin softly, standing next to his bed. The man raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't given me the tip that another nin was out there, I'm not sure I would've reacted fast enough to deflect her blow."

"You saved all of our lives, Haruno-san. It was the least I could do for a fellow Leaf shinobi. Especially our healer."

"Still, I deeply appreciate it. The woman was an extremely talented ninja and if I hadn't been aware of her presence, I'm not sure I would've been able to protect all of us." The jounin inclined his head, appreciating her thanks.

"It was the least I could do," he repeated. Sakura gave him a smile, her hand latching onto Itachi's arm.

"Well, we'll leave you to let you rest. Have a good day," Sakura bowed her head, pulling her silent partner out of the room. Ino raised both eyebrows, her eyes pointedly staring at Sakura's hand on Itachi's arm. Sakura frowned, glaring at her best friend, and removed her hand. Ino merely grinned in response.

"Sakura, we're going to have to hang out again. How about this Friday?" Ino's tone was light, but Sakura knew that Ino would not take no for an answer. "I already checked your schedule and you don't work this Friday. Neither of us do, for that matter." Sakura winced, trying to think of a legitimate excuse, especially since Ino had just taken her favorite excuse away.

She was drawing a blank. "Sure, Ino. Sounds like fun." Ino smirked, making Sakura wince further. She just knew Ino was going to grill her on her relationship to Itachi- Arata- and she wasn't going to stop until she got sufficient answers.

"Good. I'll be over at four to help you dress." Sakura fought down a groan. "No, no excuses. I _will _be over. The last time you hung out with me, you looked like crap."

"I did not!" Ino rolled her eyes.

"Bull. You wore a black skirt and red vest. Laaaame." Sakura glared. "Remember, Forehead, four o'clock Friday. I'll be there!" Sakura sighed.

"Of course, Ino. I'll be waiting." Sakura and Itachi parted from Ino's company, leaving the hospital. The two fell into silence, which Itachi found rather odd for his pinkette roommate. Glancing over, he saw her brows creased in thought.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" She looked up, almost startled, but sighed.

"I keep thinking back to that kunoichi- Sayori. She was so strong and... I dunno... it just makes me wonder about kunoichi in general. She hid her good looks so she could gain respect. But... the way her life ended... it's just..."

"You don't want to end up that way?" Itachi suggested. Sakura bit her lip, nodding.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't think she had a family or anything. She just sort of accepted her death. I don't want to end up that way- dying alone on a battlefield. I don't want to... go out that way."

"Your pity on the enemy is amusing," Itachi told her. She looked up, surprised. "And, you will not die that way. I cannot imagine you dying on the battlefield. And if you were to die on the battlefield, I do not think you would die alone."

"Why's that?"

"Because you have too many close companions that would give their life to protect you. That woman did not." Sakura nodded slowly.

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. Thanks, Arata-kun." Sakura smiled brightly at him. "I feel better now!" He nodded. Keeping her smile, Sakura grabbed his arm, tugging him away. "C'mon, let's go to that cute little dango shop over there!"

* * *

><p>"Ack! Ouch!" That was the first thing Itachi heard as he walked in the door. "Ino! Ino! Stop!" Then he heard girlish, cackling laughter.<p>

"Sakura?" he called out, removing his ANBU mask.

"Arata-kun?" He winced, hearing a few crashes and stumbles. Turning, he looked up the staircase, seeing a strange sight. Sakura looked slightly disheveled, but that wasn't what attracted his attention.

The woman whom he had lived with for the past three months was wearing something he never even imagined she owned. For all his time spent with her, he could only remember seeing her in her medical outfit, her regular shinobi wear, or casual clothes that included a skirt and red vest. But nothing like... this.

Sakura fidgeted, tugging down the hem of her dress. Itachi tried to snap his eyes away, but looking at her, he couldn't believe this was the same workaholic, overly professional, serious kunoichi he had come to know.

She was wearing a short, black, lacy dress. It barely went down to mid thigh; Itachi was almost positive that if she were to bend down, he could easily see up her skirt. It was form fitting, except around her thighs, where it flowed loosely. The bodice of the dress was silky red, with a silver diamond between her breasts. It was generously low-cut, and only held up by two thin red straps. Her legs and arms were bare, except for a silver bracelet on her right hand.

"You weren't supposed to be home yet," Sakura whispered, tugging on her dress again. "Oh, I had hoped you'd never have to see me like this." There was a note of horror in her voice, and absolute mortification.

"Sakura, put these on!" The other voice was Ino's. Itachi watched as a pair of black-heeled sandals were chucked at Sakura. She caught them, startled.

"I finished early. Are you going out tonight?" Itachi responded, feeling a smirk beginning to tug at his lips. Sakura nodded.

"I promised Ino I'd hang out with her today. She's been over here since four o'clock working on me." It was nearly six. Itachi started up the stairs, watching as Sakura's eyes widened in horror.

"Why are you coming upstairs? Nononono!" She went to push him back down, but he avoided her hands, finally smirking.

"I have to change, Sakura," he told her, gesturing towards his uniform. She sighed, but stood out of the way for him to come up.

"Sakura! Put those shoes on now!" Sakura groaned, leaning against the wall, slipping on the black sandals. Straps covered her toes, so only the tips of her red painted toenails showed. A thin strap buckled around her ankle, and one more thin strap went down the center of her foot. The heel had to be at least four inches, likely five inches, and it was a thin stiletto-like heel.

"Happy, Ino?" Sakura retorted, surprising Itachi by how easily she walked in the heels.

"Yeah; now come back in here and fix your hair! Did you put on that eyeshadow?"

"Yes," Sakura replied, rolling her eyes. Itachi glanced over, seeing her smoky-looking eyes- thick mascara brought out her eyelashes, while black eyeliner lined her eyes, and black eyeshadow covered her lids. She even seemed to have a thick coating of lip gloss on- light pink lip-gloss.

"Where are you going, Sakura?" Itachi asked lightly. Sakura shrugged.

"Hopefully somewhere that this outfit won't make me look ridiculous." She sighed, walking back to her room to brush her hair. Itachi slipped into his own room, getting some clothes, and then heading towards the bathroom and taking a shower.

When he finished, Sakura was just getting ready to head downstairs. Her hair was kept straight, pulled back into a high ponytail. A diamond choker was at her neck, with matching earrings dangling from her ears.

Ino came out behind Sakura, wearing a short black dress, too. It was one shouldered, with black lace covering the black, tight-fitting bodice. She wore similar shoes to Sakura, with equally tall heels. Her make-up was nearly identical to Sakura's, and while Sakura wore silver jewelry, Ino wore gold. Her hair was also pulled up into a high ponytail.

"Hmm..." Ino looked at Itachi, a bright light coming into her eye. "Arata-kun, would you like to come with us? I'll pick out something for you to wear!"

"No thank-you, Ino-san. I wish to rest." Sakura audibly sighed in relief. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You wouldn't enjoy yourself," Sakura explained. "Come on, Ino. If we're going to go, let's go." She gave one more tug on her dress, letting Ino go down the stairs first. Sakura turned to face Itachi, smiling softly. "How did your mission go? You're not injured, are you?"

"It was fine. No, I am not injured." She nodded, shifting awkwardly.

"I... um... I'll be back later." Sakura rubbed her neck, nervously. "Uggh, I look ridiculous," she muttered, beginning to step down the stairs. Itachi did vaguely agree with her- she did look ridiculous, but not in a bad way. More in a very impractical way. Still, he did admit that she did look... what was the accurate word? Attractive?

"You look nice, Sakura," he told her softly. His compliment shocked her; he could tell by the way she visibly stiffened. But she turned, smiling.

"Thank you, Arata-kun." She continued the rest of the way down the stairs, and as she turned, he could have sworn her face looked much redder than regular, almost as if she were blushing.

* * *

><p>"So... Sakura..." Ino's tone was low and dangerous. Sakura took a drink of her fruity cocktail, trying not to look at Ino. She knew what her best friend was going to ask. Or more like, pry. The restaurant (more like a bar) had dimmed lights, with a thumping bass and music in the background. Absentmindedly, Sakura allowed her fingers to tap along with the beat.<p>

"You're going to fill me in on your relationship with Arata. Don't say there is nothing there, because I _know_ there is." Sakura ran a finger around the rim of her cup, smiling mysteriously, not looking at Ino.

"We're just friends."

"Bull. When two people can communicate silently like you two did in the hospital, it always screams more than just friends. He's either your best friend, like your brother, or someone you love."

"We have a complicated relationship," Sakura replied. Ino sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Every relationship is complicated for you. You can never just admit that you have feelings for someone, can you? No, ever since Sasuke, you've refused to date anyone." Sakura frowned, looking down at her glass. "So answer me honestly, Sakura, do you like Arata?"

"It's not that simple... I mean," Sakura took a sip of her drink, trying to gather her thoughts, "we are close. But I don't want to like him and then expect something to come from our relationship." Ino nodded, interlacing her fingers underneath her chin. "And after Sasuke... I just didn't want to deal with that type of emotional roller coaster again."

"That is true. He did sort of do a number on you, didn't he? Okay, I can see why you'd be a bit turned off the whole relationship and love thing. But Arata seems like a really decent guy. He respects you and acknowledges you, which is a whole heck of a lot more than Sasuke ever did; he spends time with you and your friends; he takes care of you, it seems like; and I know I heard him compliment you on the way you look tonight. Those are positive signs. Anyways, Sakura, a guy wouldn't want to live with you for so long if he wasn't interested. For real."

"But there is more to Arata than meets the eye," Sakura murmured. That made Ino's grin grow larger.

"That's a good sign! If you know that there is more to him than what's on the surface, then he's let you in. He's comfortable around you."

"That's not exactly what I mean." _I mean that he's actually a previous S-class criminal who was killed by his younger brother, the same younger brother who he loved so much that he was willing to go against his orders and spare him. The same man who was ordered to kill his entire clan by his own village... He's not exactly the most emotionally grounded. _

"Sakura, just try to look at the positives for once. Don't think so much into it." Ino's smile was comforting and she reached across the table, holding Sakura's hand. "For once, just let yourself feel. No thoughts. Just let whatever emotions come to you stay. If that means you want to start a relationship with him, then let it blossom into whatever that turns into."

"It's not that easy, Ino. I don't... I don't think I can handle another Sasuke."

"He's not going to be another Sasuke. It'll be different this time. You're older, he's older, you're already living together, you're both friends... it's already different from Sasuke. A clean slate, Sakura. Stop letting emotional scars hold you back." Sakura finally offered her own easy smile, wishing that she could do just what Ino said.

"I'll try, Ino. I really will." Ino nodded, grinning as she looked at Sakura's nearly empty drink. Waving her hand in the air, she signaled for a waiter.

"Another round of drinks here, please!"

* * *

><p>Sakura knew something was wrong. She wasn't sure what, but she could feel it. Her chest was constricted and her body sweaty. Looking around wildly in her pitch-black room, she couldn't understand her fear. Her senses were going into hyper drive and her chakra was sparking through her veins.<p>

She had been in a deep sleep, after working all day at the hospital. It was a regular night, as far as she could tell. The pain in her chest grew tighter, her nerves on edge. Sakura trembled as she got out of bed, her breathing quickly increasing.

What was wrong with her? It hadn't been a nightmare, she hadn't had any type of drug or alcohol (the last time she had had alcohol had been with Ino, about a week ago, and that hadn't made her feel this way at all), and she hadn't overtaxed her body at the hospital for once.

Her hand trembled as she touched her doorknob. The trembles turned into shakes, spreading through her whole body. Even though her breathing had turned into pants and then gasps, she felt like her chest was squeezing together so tightly that she was suffocating.

Itachi would be able to help her. Sakura opened her door, feeling her head whirl as she walked across the hallway. She opened Itachi's door, and finally figured out what was wrong. He wasn't there- she remembered now about his mission, another S-class one, which he had left on the night before- and he must be the reason she was feeling this way. The only cause of that would be, though, if something was wrong with him.

Her body was reacting this way because something had happened to him. Sakura usually had a keen sense of his chakra and location, but at the moment, her chakra was so out of control, she couldn't sense him at all. Placing her hands against the wall, bracing herself, she tried to focus. She concentrated on her chakra link to him, feeling for her chakra within him.

It took more concentration than she expected, leaving her breathless, but eventually she was able to sense him. She could tell that he was on his way back to Konoha, but he was still far. She could feel from his chakra levels that something was seriously wrong with him.

Her chest coiled even tighter together, leaving her sucking in air, but to no avail. It had to be all in her mind, but she had never expected their bond to be so deep that she could feel him like this. Gripping the walls, she wondered what she could do for him. He was much too far from Konoha for her to go racing out to find him- she didn't even know where to start. And in the state she was in, she wouldn't get very far.

"Itachi..." Sakura bit her lip, her mind racing. Was he dying? He had to be dying for her to feel this way. She could try to hone in on her chakra and transport directly to him- it would be the same concept as tagging an area with chakra to return to at great distances.

This was the best idea she had, but Sakura knew she couldn't transport out of her house blindly and without supplies. Rallying her strength together, she rushed back into her room, throwing on some shorts and a shirt. She grabbed her bigger medical bag that carried all her scrolls, healing tools, and medications, and then grabbed a spare pair of her boot-sandals.

_Concentrate... _Sakura made the necessary hand signs, focusing with all her might on the bits of her chakra she sensed from him. It was a distorting sensation as she whipped from one place to another in the blink of an eye.

She landed ungracefully on the ground, hissing as thumped against the hard rocks. She hadn't made it exactly to where he was, but close enough that she could easily trace him. The pain in her chest grew as she rushed forward, becoming so great that she was seeing black dots flit across her vision.

"Who's there?" It was another ANBU member. Sakura stepped from the bushes, panting, as she held up her hands in surrender. "Haruno-san...?"

"Where is Arata?" she gasped, her eyes roving over the two nins still standing. Their eyes widened, taking in her sudden appearance. "I need to find him!" A strangled cough is what answered her question. She whipped her head around, seeing a body propped against a tree. "Is that...?"

"He took a heavy blow to the chest," one of the members whispered. "We can't... run back fast enough." Sakura finally noticed that they were all bloodied and wounded. All the chakra levels in them were dangerously low. "Why are you here?" Sakura felt the pain in her chest expand, beginning to reach through her limbs. She shook her head, walking over to Itachi.

Sakura lifted up his mask, panting heavily.

"Sakur-" Itachi gave a strangled sound. Sakura shook her head, lifting her heavy arms to his chest.

"I'm going to save you," she whispered, drawing chakra to her hands. She healed the wound, sealing together the skin. Looking back up at him, she could tell he was still pale. "We need to get you home," she whispered. "There is something wrong." He nodded, understanding that Sakura was referring to her jutsu.

"My team," he told her hoarsely. Sakura nodded, turning to the two other ANBU. Quietly, she healed the two weakening nins. They nodded their thanks to her, and turned back to shoulder a body. It was the corpse of one of their fallen comrades.

"We couldn't retrieve the other member..." one of the ANBU told her. Sakura nodded, understanding. Whatever the mission was, it was brutal.

"We need to get home," she told them. "Please, I'll help Arata. You two lead the way." Itachi slung an arm around Sakura shoulders, while Sakura wrapped an arm around his waist. The two followed after the other two ANBU. Despite Itachi's weakened state, he was still able to keep up with her. She was beginning to feel immensely better after healing Itachi, and though there was still a pain in her chest, it was considerably numbed. Her chakra was feeling more at rest within her body, and her overactive senses had calmed down. Sakura could only surmise that by stabling Itachi, or maybe by being next to Itachi, it had eased the effects of their chakra bond.

It took several long hours to make it back to Konoha, and at the village gates, Sakura faced the two ANBU members.

"I'm taking him to be treated. Can you two make the report?" They nodded.

"Haruno-san, how do we explain your appearance? Did Tsunade-sama send you?" Sakura hesitated, shaking her head.

"I... Tell Tsunade-sama I'll talk to her about it later. Tell her I'll explain everything then." The ANBU nodded, parting ways, though they thanked her beforehand.

"We would have died without you; or at least have lost Genji-san." Sakura nodded.

"I know. Excuse us." Sakura was able to make it home with Itachi still hanging onto his consciousness, but as soon as she entered the door, she felt his frame go limp. Sakura used a bit of chakra to carry him downstairs, back into her lab room where she had originally revived him.

He didn't even stir when she placed him down on the bed and took off his shirt, showing how unconscious he was. Sakura placed her hands on his chest, letting her chakra filter into his body. As she had feared, the jutsu she had used on his body had been weakening. His body went through more extraneous situations than what her jutsu had prepared for.

The chakra that had stimulated his cells- her chakra- was running out. It explained how he had become so wounded. With his body beginning to crash, he was weakened. Sakura wanted to cry because she hadn't noticed. He had been doing so well! What had changed?

She wasn't sure what to do for him. She needed to do _something, _and it had to be a fast _something._ Sakura bit her lip, clenching her fists. The chakra within him wasn't holding... it was almost like it was fading away and his cells were dying. He was going to die.

She winced, thinking back to Heiwa. Hadn't her dog gone through this same problem? She had been able to pump more chakra into her puppy, but that wouldn't save Itachi. It wouldn't remedy the problem. What could she do? She had to make a chakra recycling system, or something of the sort. How, though? How could she do something like that? Sakura glanced up at her wall, pacing around the room. Briefly, her eye caught the small picture she kept on her counter. It was one of the typical Naruto-Sakura thumbs up pictures that littered her house. Really, she kept too many pictures of Naruto around the house.

Sakura stopped, her eyes darting back to the picture. The idea flashed through her head, and she broke out into a grand smile, shaking her head at the picture.

"Once again, Naruto, you save the day." It was a crazy thought, but Naruto had a type of chakra seal on him- though of course, his was to seal the Kyuubi. But it was a type of chakra seal, nonetheless. Sakura could use that same principle to regulate Itachi's chakra. By implanting a seal on his chakra core, she could make sure his chakra kept stable and would be able to keep chakra in his cells. This way, he would not suffer sudden weaknesses, like he just had.

Of course, such a jutsu was not something Sakura knew right off the top of her head. Gritting her teeth, she rushed out of the room, praying with everything in her that she had a book about sealing jutsus. It took her a few minutes to finally find one, and a few more minutes to find one that would work for Itachi, but finally she did. Quickly, she hurried back to Itachi's still body, setting the tome in front of her. Sakura did the listed hand signs, drawing her chakra to her hands in the correct way.

It took her a few tries to actually get the jutsu to work, but when it did, Sakura was left watching the seal drain her chakra. Gritting her teeth, she activated one of the Yin-Seals on her wrist, feeling a bit of chakra flood her system. A bright green light surrounded her and Itachi as the chakra reformed into a seal inside his body. Finally, as the seal finished, a blast of chakra sent her reeling backwards.

Panting, she stood up, seeing a small green circle with a cross within it materialize on his torso. It was tiny, but enough to show her that the seal was completed. Sakura placed her hands back on his chest, carefully examining his body. It took her about another hour to be completely satisfied that the seal was regulating his chakra correctly; as well as taking that time to heal all of his wounds he had sustained in the battle, but she eventually deemed him good enough. Groaning, she slumped back into a chair, waiting for him to awaken. She did not have to wait long, as she had suspected.

"Sakura?" Itachi opened his eyes, rising slightly.

"How are you feeling?" His audible breath was enough to tell Sakura he was still in pain. "Where does it hurt?"

"Chest," he muttered. Sakura nodded, pressing her hands back on the tender skin that she had healed in the field. She sent a bit of chakra to ease the pain, and then withdrew her hands, feeling unsteady on her feet. "Sakura? What did you do?" He had observed her carefully, and knew that her state was something caused by chakra depletion- a typical occurrence of hers after she had healed extensively. She went back to sit on her chair, but stumbled, her head whirling. Itachi grabbed her hand, pulling her down on the bed beside him.

"I messed up," she mumbled. "I never noticed that your body was losing my chakra that keeps your cells stabilized. When you went out on your mission, the potency of my jutsu had been weakened considerably. In essence, your body was quickly shutting down. That was why you were injured, I'm sure, and it just rushed your near death. I felt you dying- it woke me up. It seems our bond is much stronger than I realized. I was able to transport out and save you, and your two teammates, and then I brought you back here. To fix the problem, I've put a special chakra seal inside you, to regulate the chakra in your cells. Every so often, I'll have to strengthen it, but at least this way, you won't have that problem ever again."

"Two teammates?" he asked her quietly. She nodded.

"The other two were already dead by time I got there. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If I had noticed your body's state, I wouldn't have let you go out on that mission. I know you have a flawless record of always succeeding and getting your men back alive, and I ruined it. I'm sorry, Itachi."

"It's a bit of a stretch to blame yourself for a mission you had no part in. Do not apologize. What happens, happens." Sakura nodded, letting her head slump against his shoulder. "I'm assuming you have to report to the Hokage, much as I still do?" Sakura nodded. "My teammates must have been seriously wounded if they allowed you to approach me so easily," he mused.

"They were exhausted. I don't think they were thinking clearly when I arrived." Her eyes slid shut, and she felt her exhausted body slump against his. "We should both rest for a bit," she told him dazedly. He nodded, feeling his own bout of tiredness. Too tired to get up, both fell against the bed, sleeping rather soundly.

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><p>"...And it's due to this chakra seal that I can sense him. That was why I arrived," Sakura concluded, having already spoken for nearly fifteen minutes about healing Arata and the bonds that had been made between them. She had refrained from speaking anything about reviving Itachi, and had made it seem like the bond was merely due to intense healing. Tsunade nodded at the end of her explanation, sighing as she took in her apprentice's appearance and the Itachi-twin's worn appearance.<p>

"Well, it was good luck that you could sense him. I would have lost one of my finest shinobi if you hadn't. Arata, I expect a full written report on my desk tomorrow morning. Sakura, I'll be talking to you later about this chakra seal and your medical jutsu that made it. But not now; I've got too much to do. Both of you take the next day off and rest. Good work, you two. Now, dismissed!"

"Tsunade-sama? When will the funerals be held for those nins?" Sakura asked her mentor timidly. Tsunade looked up, her own expression showing what sadness she felt at losing some of her nins.

"In three days," she told them quietly. Sakura and Itachi both nodded, exiting the room.

"Let's get something to eat," Sakura told him, quite subdued. They didn't say much, even while they ate at Ichiraku, and would have remained as solemn if Naruto hadn't come bursting into the restaurant. The two regarded the blonde curiously, as he began to blurt something into his two friend's ears.

"We'vesetthedate!" Sakura raised an eyebrow, clearly meaning she wanted him to slow down. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. We've finally set the date. To be married. Her dad finally accepted the engagement and we're going to get married in four months!"

"September?" Sakura asked carefully, trying to figure out the significance of that month. Naruto nodded.

"My mom and dad got married in September. We're going to plan it on the same date." That made Sakura smile, and she nodded, patting Naruto on the back.

"Have some ramen, then, Naruto. On me. To celebrate!" Naruto's eyes lit up and he wormed himself in between Itachi and Sakura, making Itachi scoot over a seat. As Ayame brought over his bowl, Naruto immediately stuffing half of it into his mouth, he turned back to Sakura.

"We want you to be the maid of honor!" he exclaimed, spewing noodles over her face. Irritated, she flicked a noodle off her face, fixing Naruto with a stern glare. He grinned sheepishly, swallowing his food before he started to talk again. "Hinata-chan agrees that you should be the maid of honor. You've done so much for both of us; we really couldn't think of who else would be better than you. I wanted Sasuke-teme to be my best man, but since he's still being dumb and staying in the prison, I figure I'll go with the next best thing! His older brother!" With that, Naruto whirled around to Itachi, who had arched his eyebrow at the jinchuuriki.

"Naruto, what have I told you about calling him Itachi?" Sakura hissed, clenching her fist. Naruto rolled his eyes, nudging Itachi with his elbow.

"Call him whatever you want, Sakura-chan, but I fought and talked with Itachi before. This man reeks of Itachi's scent, their chakra signatures are the exact same, and they fight the same! It's obvious to anyone who has talked with Itachi before that this is the same man." Sakura grit her teeth, growling a low warning to her best friend.

"Itachi was brought back to life in the war, remember? Can you explain how this same person, who is very much alive, could be the same dead man you fought with?"

"Well, I just figure I'm gonna have to be patient until you explain how you did it. But don't worry, Sakura-chan, your secret is safe with me! I understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know." Her face was flushing with anger, and gently, Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Either way, Naruto," Itachi began smoothly, "if I were to be Itachi, I'm sure you understand all the repercussions of why such a thing would not go over well in the village." Sakura gaped at him, incredulous that the man had nearly admitted to being his former self.

"Arata," she hissed, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him. Itachi sighed, nodding. The two fell silent, while Naruto looked from one to the other, his eyes glowing with confusion, that slowly turning into a smug knowing. Sakura caught a glance at his smug look and turned her glowering face to him.

"What, Naruto?" He erupted into a smile.

"You two are so funny together! You communicate with those silent looks just like Hinata-chan and I do!" Sakura's lips twitched and she finally smiled, finding it useless to hold onto her anger with such an exuberant best friend. "So, you'll be my best man, right, Arata?" The older shinobi nodded. "Good! Awesome! I'll be your best man when you get married, too, Arata!" Itachi opted not to comment, instead turning back to his own bowl of ramen.

The three lapsed into silence, eating quietly, until Naruto began to speak again, though his tone was much quieter. "Itachi wasn't that bad of a guy, Sakura-chan," he began softly. "He seemed pretty okay during our battle. He didn't want to fight me."

"I know, Naruto," she responded softly. Glancing over, she saw Itachi's stiffened shoulders. "Let's drop it, okay? I just… I understand." The two best friends shared a look, both a curious questioning to what the other knew, and a deep understanding that Itachi wasn't what he seemed to be on the surface.

"So, what date was it in September?" Naruto grinned at the thought of his wedding, exclaiming a joyful, "The sixteenth of September!" Sakura nodded, vocally swearing that she would be there, no matter what.

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><p>"So. Itachi. What was up with that whole conversation thing at Ichiraku? I feel like you might have left some things hidden that I might just need to know about. I was under the impression that you couldn't remember anything you did while you were a puppet. Care to fill me in?" He met her fierce look, sighing softly.<p>

"What makes you think that I remember that time?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't play with me, Uchiha. You and he said something in coded language that had to stem from that meeting when you were dead. That means that you remember something." He ran a hand through his hair, sitting on the couch. Sakura stood imposingly in front of him, her hands on her hips. "I don't appreciate all of our hard work going down the drain because you and he share some type of bond that you never informed me of. From what I recall, the last thing you said you remembered was fighting with your brother. You seemed surprised to hear about Sasuke's abandonment of the Leaf. If you had talked to Naruto, though, during the War, you would have already learned about that."

"I did not mean to tell you lies. To be fair, I did not immediately remember my experience as a puppet. If anything, it had felt like a faded dream that was at the reaches of my subconscious. However, when you explained about me being a puppet, I did vaguely remember the event. But it was not clear until after you had explained everything about Sasuke and Madara. You jogged the memory loose, and then I could reflect on everything that had happened between Naruto and me." Sakura let out a deep breath, her hands falling off her hips. She slumped into the seat next to him.

"I just don't want you to lie to me, okay? I just wanted… I want you to trust me." He nodded, seeing her downcast look.

"Madara was the one to inform Naruto of my true mission. Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto are the only ones who knew; besides Sasuke, who was also informed by Madara; and Naruto promised me then that he would not reveal the truth behind the massacre to the village, so that it would not stain the Uchiha's name." She shook her head softly, looking up at him in amazement.

"No wonder you're so far out of reach. You're so self-sacrificing, never wanting glory, but you have the best abilities out of most of the shinobi in the village. You're immensely intelligent, able to plan for things others wouldn't even imagine… You're at the top, a special tier made only for those of the very best. You're too perfect."

"I was taught by someone very close to me," he remarked vaguely, "how to be a true shinobi. I followed in his footsteps to protect the village."

"I sometimes wish I could understand everything that goes on in your head. Even now, when I feel like I'm the closest person to you, I realize there is so much I don't know. I sometimes wish I could be at the top with you." It was a comforting gesture, gentle and tender, something she had never expected from him. He slowly brushed a piece of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She looked at him, her eyes betraying her shock.

"You are at the top with me. You have your own strong qualities that I couldn't even try to imitate. We are different, but the tier we share has become rather crowded with many of our friends. Shisui, Naruto, the Fourth… We're all there." He lowered his face to hers, gently resting his forehead against hers. "The village has changed for the best; I'm glad you've given me another chance to experience what I had missed."

"I… you…" Sakura barely breathed, hearing Ino's words echo in her head,_ "For once, just let yourself feel. No thoughts."_ She swallowed nervously, closing her eyes as his breath lightly fanned across her face.

"Always stay at the top with me. I can't lose you." Her eyes opened in shock, her mind reeling at the implication of his words.

"Ita… Itachi?" her voice trembled, coming out slightly high-pitched. His hand brushed over her hair again, slowly coming to rest of the back of her neck. Sakura could feel her heart speed up, as she tried to figure out the sudden obvious romantic interest Itachi was showing her. Was it just the conversation? Had their feelings been growing for one another that steadily?

"Sakura, I appreciate everything you've done for me." She let her eyes fall shut again, feeling the sudden need to have him kiss her. The situation was so perfect… all he needed was to lean in the final two inches and kiss her.

Instead, he gave her head one final stroke, gently pressed his lips to her forehead, and stood up. Sakura was left dazed as she heard him softly pad up the stairs. She reached a trembling hand to touch her forehead, taking in a deep breath. Her heart raced as she thought of the soft lips against her forehead, and giddily, she smiled.

It wasn't exactly a kiss, nor was it exactly a love confession (or even a "would you be my girlfriend" type of confession), but she didn't want to rush their relationship. That was enough for right now. They still had time to see what was going to evolve and develop between them.

"I'll always stay at the top with you," she mumbled, smiling. _Or if we have to, we'll sink to the bottom, or fly above the sky. But I'm not going to leave you any time soon. We're in this together, Itachi. For how long, only time will tell. But we're sticking it through to the end with each other._

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I like this chapter. It's actually one of my favorite chapters I've written. We finally found some SakuraxItachi action. I like writing them as friends. It makes everything uncomplicated. Oh, by the way, I had a blast writing Ino and Sakura's scenes. They were my favorite part of this chapter. Girl time is always fun :D<p>

And the three things I want to explain this chapter are:

1. The Akatsuki nail-polish question? I've always wondered that. Why do you guys think that Akatsuki wore nailpolish. Tell me in a review! And while I'm on random stuff from the chapter: I totally had a reference picture for Sakura and Ino's outfits. And I lost both dress pictures and shoe pictures! Argh. I spent over an hour looking for Sakura's dress before I finally gave up. It was a pretty dress, too... :(

2. Itachi's new chakra seal- I hope that made sense as to what Sakura did and what went wrong with the jutsu. A lot of people guessed that Itachi would experience the same thing that had happened to Heiwa, and they were right. Except, it was a little more deadly for Itachi. To explain: Sakura's chakra began to fade from his cells because the more he worked, the more he burned it off. It took a few months to totally lose a large enough chunk that would harm him. To repair him, Sakura placed a type of chakra recycle system that recycled her chakra in his cells through his body. So pretty much, since her chakra is only there to keep his cells functioning, the seal keeps her chakra recycled, while making sure that Itachi uses his own chakra to fight with. I hope that makes it more clear XP

3. Itachi remembering about the puppet and all that jazz- If you remember back to when Sakura first revived Itachi, she asked him what was the last thing he remembered. He responded with fighting with Sasuke. That's why Sakura thinks he lied to her about remembering being a puppet. Itachi's reference to his and Naruto's conversation from the manga is when he says something about there being repercussions in the village if they found out who he is. This line stems from Itachi's plead to Naruto about not telling the truth about his mission because it would mar the Uchiha's name, since they were traitors. Itachi's line in this chapter was Itachi's sly way of reminding Naruto not to speak a word about Itachi's true mission or identity in the village because he didn't want to bring down the name of the Uchiha Clan.

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter:<em>**

****_Sakura may just get her wish of getting a mission. And even better, she may just get it with Itachi. But it may be that she will be doing her mission with the actual Itachi Uchiha. The Itachi Uchiha that killed his clan in cold blood to test his strength, the same S-class, fearsome, emotionless Akatsuki member of legends. Sakura isn't so sure she's going to like this persona of Itachi. He seems to be a far cry from the one she has befriended. _

_ **Next Chapter: Team Up! **_

Hold your breath...!

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><p>So I want your opinion: What were your thoughts on the ItachiSakura scene at the end? Did anyone think they were actually going to kiss? And who thinks Sakura has developed a crush on Itachi? Thanks for all the reviews, too! We reached the 200 mark! :O You guys are awesome!


	12. Chapter 12: Team Up!

This is my longest chapter yet. I think the last time I checked, it was over twenty-five pages long :O And since so many of you guys asked to see Itachi's thoughts in reviews, I added a few scenes of his musings :) Just for you guys :D Cause I love you!

And I'm not sure if I replied to reviews for the past chapter. I apologize. This past week has been hell for me so I don't think I was on the computer for leisure very much. Sorry! Anyways, thanks for all your responses!

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><p><span>Chapter Twelve: <span>_Team Up!_

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><p>They stood up straight, facing Tsunade calmly. The woman had both of her honey-colored eyes set on them, staring them down, evaluating the two.<p>

"I never did manage to worm that jutsu explanation out of you, Sakura." Sakura tensed, biting her lip. "But that's not why you two are in front of me today. Instead, it's for a mission." That perked Sakura up.

"For both of us?" she asked, almost excitedly. It had been a long time since she had been given an actual assigned mission, and an even longer time since she had had a partner.

"Yes. S-rank, which isn't anything surprising for Arata, but I believe you can handle this, Sakura." Sakura stood up a little straighter, determination flashing in her eyes. Her mentor nodded her head, understanding Sakura's look. "Usually this is something I would send another ANBU on, but the mission specifically calls for a medical ninja. You are the best medic nin and fighter combo in the village, besides myself, so you're perfect for the job. Arata was already going to be assigned this mission, so it's an even bigger bonus that you two work well together." Lacing her fingers together, she looked at the black-haired ANBU captain and her pink-haired pupil.

"For the past several months, we've been doing reconnaissance missions on this new group of nins, up near Rain. They almost resemble a group like Akatsuki, except not quite as powerful. I'm sure you're aware of the group I'm talking about, Arata; you've been one of the main ANBU members to continually get information about them." Itachi nodded. "We're worried because of the delicate state Rain is in—after all, Nagato was the kage of the village, until his death at our hands. Though it's been several years since then, the country has hardly recovered, even with aid. This group looked like it was going to try and seize power; eventually expanding to other villages after it would have conquered Rain." Tsunade took a deep breath, sighing, as she looked over some scrolls. "Well, we were right. They did overthrow Rain, taking the new leaders of Rain as hostages. Like I said, the group is made up of rather professional rogue nins, however they have no healer. So they've demanded a healer in exchange for sparing the leaders' lives."

"It's a delicate position, and I've received many different concerned letters from the other kages about it. In the end, I was the one who offered to take care of the problem. After all, Konoha is known for its famed healers. But I want this mission to be covert and almost detached from the other villages. So this is where you two come in. Very few shinobi spark fear into rogue nins' hearts. But the famed Uchiha Itachi is easily one of those shinobi with a reputation that sparks fear and respect. It's no secret that you look like exactly like said famed shinobi, Arata." Tsunade grinned, leaning back in her chair, still gazing at the two carefully.

"The plan is this: Arata, you're going to pose as Itachi Uchiha, a ninja who never died. He only faked his death. The only ones who knew of Itachi's puppet body in the war are in this village, so there is no fear of being discovered there. He is going to bring the famed Fifth Hokage's precious apprentice as an offering to the group of shinobi—only as in exchange for becoming leader of the group. Sakura, you cling to Itachi during the mission. They are going to be suspicious of you, of course, but Arata, you strike away that suspicion by claiming she's yours or something of the sort. If anything, the two of you should nearly resemble a couple. That, though, I'll let you figure out within by yourselves." Tsunade waved a dismissive hand at the subject.

"In the end, the plan is for Sakura to put a type of sealing chakra within the enemy, slowing disabling their ability to use chakra. It will take a bit of time, but eventually, when they realize that you two are planning to kill them, they won't be able to fight back. I want all of them eradicated, unless you find any reason to bring one back to interrogate them, like if they might have other plans that we don't know about. You must have this mission done within a two month period, but I don't expect to see you back earlier than a month."

"Why can't we just go in an assassinate them, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked curiously. Tsunade sighed, letting her hand hold her face up.

"Because there is a slight chance that they may kill some of the other Rain leaders. Furthermore, they might have information we need, or something else going on behind the scenes. I don't know, but I want this mission done with the least amount of risk. This was the best way I could guarantee safety of the leaders." The two nodded. "I expect you two to say your goodbyes, and depart by tomorrow morning. Oh, Shizune will cover the hospital, Sakura, so don't worry. Make sure you change Arata's appearance to match Itachi's." Sakura nodded. "I expect weekly reports. A week and two days without reports, I'm going to send back-up, so do not be late with your reports. Arata, make sure to fill her in on what you know about the group. Here's a scroll containing all the information you need. Arata is captain, so you concede to him, Sakura. Both of you are dismissed! And... come back alive, you two." They both nodded, Itachi taking the scroll, and the two departing from the room.

"Yes! A mission, finally!" Sakura pumped her fist, grinning cheerfully at Itachi. "This looks like it will be fun!" He shook his head, rolling his eyes at her. She merely grinned in response, punching him lightly on the arm. "C'mon, you should be excited to be teamed up with me! Though I am worried about you impersonating Itachi... I dunno, do you think you can nail his character?" Her grin was teasing, and though he gave her a flat look, the quirking of his lips gave away his amusement.

It had been years since Itachi Uchiha had been seen by the world. Though his body was never found, the rumor was spread that he had died. But there was always a lingering fear that the famed clan killer would come back to life again; the same fear persisted with Madara, Orochimaru, and Kabuto. Famed killers, with such incredible jutsu, always had that lingering fear placed on surviving shinobi; the trepidation that one day, they would come back from the grave to finish what they had started.

Sakura could easily admit she had had nightmares about seeing Madara come back to life. She didn't know how many times she had woken up, expecting to see his dangerous red eyes in front of her. Or to look out her window and see her precious village in ruin, with the moon covered in a dangerous crimson from the Sharingan. The ultimate Tsukuyomi… it still sent shivers down her spine.

"We'll go over the mission," Itachi began, pulling Sakura away from her thoughts, "as soon as we get home. We'll pack and plan our strategy. You also must alter my appearance." Sakura nodded.

"Then we can say goodbye to our friends, right? Like Naruto and Hinata?" He nodded in response. The two made it back to Sakura's home, and while he unrolled the scroll on the coffee table, settling on the couch, Sakura went into the kitchen to make refreshments for the two of them. A few minutes later, she came out carrying a tray that held two cups, a plate of rice balls, and some leftover dango they had purchased earlier that week.

"Tea with two teaspoons of sugar and a little milk for you; one cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream for me! Just how we like them!" Itachi gave an absentminded thanks, slowly sipping the hot tea. His eyes never strayed from the scroll and Sakura joined him, eagerly reading it beside him. The two said nothing as their eyes devoured the scroll, both mechanically reaching and eating the snacks Sakura had made.

"You understand everything in here?" Itachi finally asked, leaning back into the couch. Sakura finished the last few sentences in the scroll, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. Mimicking Itachi, she leaned back, nodding slowly.

"The enemy seems to be proficient with ninjutsu and taijutsu, judging from the reports. They mostly seem to have control over earth and water style ninjutsu, making it seem like most would be from the Earth Country. After all, Rain is notable for having most of its shinobi proficient in water-based jutsu, so that isn't too strange. It seems as if their strongest ninja are considered the leaders of the group, but the reports also show that one man never partakes in the fighting, but all the others respect him. That probably means that he is the true leader of the group." Itachi nodded.

"Or at least the one with the most control in what direction the group heads. It doesn't seem like they have a completely unified front," he told her. "That is where I come in, considering the fact that I'm both powerful and intelligent."

"Exactly," Sakura said. "And you also have a powerful bargaining chip—me! Hmm… you know, just a thought, but the man who seems to be in control of the group, the one who never fights, could it be that he needs a medical nin? I mean, every fighting group needs some type of medical knowledge, especially for a rogue group, if they have no medical ninja with them. It seems that these nins have a severe lack of medical knowledge, or that they have a need for a medic with advanced knowledge."

"It could also be to gain favor in the village. A medic with knowledge on how to run a hospital could help advance the crumbling village, thus allowing the group to seize tighter control."

"…Or both." They looked at each other, agreement passing through their eyes. Sighing, Sakura ran a hand through her hair, looking over at him.

"You have double knowledge of Rain. Akatsuki's base was there, and you were one of the nins to gather information on this group. What is it like there?"

"As the name implies, it rains most days. When Nagato was in control, he used a special jutsu to make it rain while he was away that connected with his chakra. He could sense who entered and left the village from said rain. But, with his death, I doubt there is any such jutsu in place now. From what I've observed with the group, they are nowhere near the level of Akatsuki, or Nagato, for that matter. There are about fourteen in the group, and from what I've observed, there seems to be a chain of command." Itachi stopped to draw out the image with his finger.

"At the top, it seems to be the man who doesn't fight. Directly beneath him, there seems to be three other leaders—the strongest of the group. They handle the brunt of the fighting. Two are women, one is a male. Beneath them, in the third tier, are four more males who command the majority of the forces and deal with the people. They do all the in-between work from the lesser members and from the upper members. The rest of the group is the grunts, more or less. They are the ones assigned to missions and guard duty and other menial tasks. Most of them are male."

"Uggh, great, I'll be surrounded by males. If they are anything like most male rogue shinobi, they will be unbearable," Sakura groaned.

"I'll keep you with me at all times, Sakura. That way they cannot harass you." She smiled at him, feeling her chest warm at the idea of him willing to protect her. Of course, she didn't need the protection—she was a perfectly capable kunoichi on her own—but there was no need to tell him that and ruin the very nice gesture he was offering her.

"Hmm… you know, with your good looks a mysterious allure, I bet all those women will be all over you!" Her grin was playful and her eyes lit up with mischief. "Is that why the Akatsuki never had any other women besides Konan? Too many pretty men in one group? The sexual harassment must have been immense during your lifetime." He glared at her, which merely made her grin expand. "I mean, even though I killed him, Sasori had a handsome face. From what I saw of Deidara, he was pretty cute too. Even Pain had a hot bad-guy look going for him."

"And me?" Itachi asked mirthlessly.

"Well, you have been blessed with those Uchiha genes that makes every one of you immensely handsome. Have you seen your face lately?" A smirk crawled onto Itachi's face, which made her suddenly wonder (in fear) what was going to come.

"So, you think I'm handsome, huh?" Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but could think of nothing, instead feeling her cheeks flush. He arched his eyebrows, as if asking about her embarrassed blush. Laughingly, she waved her hand, deciding the best tactic would be to divert the subject.

"Umm, the mission says we have to have some type of back story for how you got me out of the village. Am I going to be a captured nin, or have you placed a genjutsu over me to make me follow you, or am I willingly betraying my village… What's it going to be?" Itachi recognized her diversion tactic and allowed it to work, deciding the mission was more important than their little game.

"I will have captured you so that you could heal my eyes and the disease I had acquired over time. We will be under the ruse of you continuing to work on my body and that is to be the reason I have not returned you to the village."

"Why am I not fighting against you? Because you know I would." Itachi nodded. "The Hokage's apprentice is known to be fierce and determined, not one to give up and accept things meekly."

"I will tell them that I have a seal on you. If you leave me without healing me, the seal will react and kill you. So, in essence, I can kill you at will, unless you obey me." Sakura nodded, impressed.

"And as soon as I fulfill my deal, you're to let me go, I guess?"

"Yes, but we'll play a double story on that. To them, I'll tell them that though I have promised to free you after you finish healing me, in truth I have no intentions of ever letting you go. To you, I'll continue to promise you freedom after you have finished healing me."

"So we're going to lie to them about lying to me, or something like that?"

"Exactly." Sakura nodded, her eyes flickering back to the scroll. "Anything else we need to cover?" She slowly shook her head.

"I think I understand it mostly. It seems like they've made their base in the Akatsuki's old base. You should know the place well then, right?" Itachi nodded. "I'm glad your previous experience is helping us." She grinned, nudging his shoulder. "Good guy gone bad guy, but really a good guy, becomes a good guy again, but now is acting like a bad guy, but really still a good guy. Geez, you're complicated!" Itachi raised an eyebrow, hardly following her statement.

"And you've only be a good guy all along, right?" he asked. She nodded.

"I'm just not as complicated as you are, Itachi." He gave a low laugh, shaking his head.

"I guess not." She smiled at him, suddenly biting her lip in thought as she stared at him.

"I have to remove the contacts," she told him. "And I suppose fix your bone structure on your cheeks to make you resemble your old self more." Sighing, she placed her hands over his eyes. "This will only take a second. Geez, it's been a while since I've seen your real eyes." Chakra glowed around her fingers and he watched, amazed, as the blue contacts were slowly pulled out of his irises with only her chakra. She held them in her palm, pouting at them.

"We're keeping them for later," she told him. Sakura placed the lenses on her coffee table, turning her attention back on his face. His onyx eyes peered at her, as he watched her place her hands on his cheeks. "This may hurt a bit, but not nearly as much as it would have the first time if I hadn't knocked you out." Her chakra glowed steadily as she placed her palms against his cheeks. Her fingertips brushed along his nose and under his eyes, and he could feel his bones reforming back into their old shape. The deep tear ducts returned, his face shaped back into its old structure.

"Take your hair down," she told him. He reached up, untying the high ponytail he had become accustomed to wearing, letting the raven locks cascade down his shoulders. Sakura ran her fingers through his bangs, pulling them back to where they used to fall naturally. Her smile was sad as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, tying his hair back in the low ponytail he had worn since he was a child.

"Well, I feel like after all the progress we've made with trying to keep your identity a secret, or at least, trying to give you another chance to live your life as you pleased, you're returning to your former self. I guess it just makes me feel sad or almost like a liar because I promised you a second chance to do something new with your life." She traced the new hollows in underneath his eyes. "I gave you your old forehead protector; did you keep it?"

"Of course," he told her softly, closing his eyes at her gentle touches. Her fingers trailed around his eyes, falling down his cheeks, curving back up to trace his nose, and finally grazing softly across his lips. His eyes opened at that, while she had withdrawn her hand, looking away sadly.

"Sakura?" he asked her softly, curious to her melancholy demeanor. "I don't blame you for this mission. You've done everything you can." She shook her head, meeting his eyes.

"It's not that. I just… I feel bad that I have to change your identity, change so much about you, just so you can live in your own village. It feels wrong, especially because you're such a hero." He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You've given me a life of relative ease, allowing me to do what I please. It doesn't matter if I have to take on a new identity to do so; I often forget I'm a new person and have a different look." She nodded, smiling in acceptance.

"Well, how about if we call Naruto, Hinata, and Sai over for dinner? That way we can tell them we'll be gone for a few months," she suggested, changing the subject to a more lighthearted one.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>"Holy crap, Sakura-chan. Why is Itachi Uchiha in your kitchen, cooking dinner?" Naruto looked at the crimson-eyed man carefully, instinctively protecting Hinata. Sakura rolled her eyes, punching her best friend lightly.<p>

"That's Arata, dummy. I had to change his features to make him look like Itachi for our upcoming mission. We're going to be gone for awhile." Naruto nodded, his body easing its tension.

"Even though I say you're Itachi, it's still shocking to actually see you look exactly like him, Arata. You two really could pass as identical twins!" Itachi gave a small smirk.

"Yes, I'm sure we could." Itachi glanced over at Sakura, seeing the same amusement he was feeling reflected in her eyes. Naruto noticed the glance and looked at both of them suspiciously.

"Oh, Sai's here!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing out of the kitchen. Her other teammate came through the door, smiling his always fake-looking smile. "Hey!" she nudged the boy, pulling him back into her kitchen. "We've got a party going on now, don't we guys?"

"Hey, Sai!" Naruto gave his other good friend a hearty clap on the back. Sai let out a small grunt, turning his smile to the blonde.

"Dickless," he greeted; getting a snicker out of Sakura, while Naruto let out sputters of insults and protests at Sai. "Hag," he called towards Sakura, seeing her amused smile turn to a dangerous glower, "where is Kakashi?"

"A mission, I guess," Sakura replied, sighing. "I tried to get a hold of him, but to no avail. Ino's on a mission with her team, too, so I couldn't invite them over, either. So make sure you tell them when they return where we are!"

"Of course, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied seriously. The group sat down on the table, Itachi carrying over the food. They made their plates and began to eat, discussing what they could about Itachi and Sakura's upcoming mission.

"So up to two months, huh?" Naruto asked her pouting. "You'll miss most of the wedding plans." Sakura smiled apologetically at Hinata.

"I'm sorry. I never expected to get a mission before the wedding." Hinata shook her head, shrugging it off.

"Tenten-san and Ino-san can help me plan. We'll all go shopping for the dresses once you return, okay?" Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

"Tenten and Ino are going to be your other bridesmaids, then?" Hinata nodded. "What about you, Naruto? Arata is your best man, right? Who else is going to be on your side and walk the two girls down the aisle?"

"Sai and Kakashi-sensei. If we had another girl, Iruka-sensei was going to be in the wedding, too."

"I have no qualms in stepping down, Naruto," Itachi told him. "You have not known me as long as your other friends."

"But… but I wanted you to walk down with Sakura-chan!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You know Iruka-sensei should be your best man, though, Naruto. He's been there for you since the beginning, like an older brother. It's only fitting, even more than Sasuke," she chided. Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess he should be the best man. Still… I wanted Arata in my wedding, too."

"Naruto, you would have everyone possible in your wedding if you could. Are you going to invite Killer B?"

"Already sent him the invitation!" Naruto exclaimed, cheerful again. "Hey, Sakura-chan, who would you have in your wedding?"

"In my wedding?" she echoed. "Well, Ino, Hinata, Shizune, and Tenten would all be my bridesmaids. Ino would be my maid-of-honor," Sakura began, feeling a bit awkward to make Ino her maid-of-honor over Hinata, "and Naruto, you would be there, on the male's side. Sai, Neji, and Shikamaru would be there, too. And Kakashi-sensei would walk me down the aisle." It did not go unnoticed by anyone at the table that Sakura had not named Arata in her wedding. It also did not go unnoticed that the men she named were all the closest males to Arata.

"You planning on marrying someone, Hag?" Sai asked her. She flushed, understanding his implications, and couldn't help her eyes that darted towards Itachi.

"I guess subconsciously I do," she mumbled, her cheeks flaming. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing about it. The five continued the dinner happily, keeping a steady conversation going the entire time. It was a fun night and when the three left, Sakura was not unhappy at inviting them over.

While washing the dishes with Itachi, he finally brought up the past marriage conversation, deciding to tease his female friend.

"Making plans about me without my knowledge?" he asked her, rinsing off a dish. Sakura stalled, her hands deep in the soapy water. She slowly turned towards him, her eyes brimming with horror and embarrassment.

"Shut it, you!" she finally responded, flicking a handful of foamy bubbles at him. He grinned, looking down at the soap on his shirt. "I didn't mean… We're not even dating!" she didn't deny her intentions, or even the possibility of marrying him.

"Do you want to remedy that?" he teased. Sakura looked at him shocked. The amusement dancing in his eyes, and the growing smirk at her quickly blushing cheeks, confirmed that he was messing with her. Growling, she flung more soap at him.

"Don't mess with me!" She hit him on the arm, glaring. He only laughed at her still red face, flicking off a bit of soap on her cheek. Despite her embarrassment and slight anger, she couldn't help but smile at his laugh. It was nice to see another, more human, side of the man she had always thought of as emotionless.

* * *

><p>"Hold your position, Sakura." She gritted her teeth, nodding tersely. He dropped from the branch, practically striding into the city. The rain was driving her insane, pouring relentlessly, soaking her to the bone, but she didn't complain to him.<p>

She tried to keep him in her sight for as long as possible, but it wasn't long before the mist from the rain covered him. Sakura held her breath, waiting for him to return to get her. He was going to scout around the city, then once he deemed it ready, come back for her so they could enact their mission plan.

Her head lightly leaned against the trunk of the tree as a shiver from the cold ran down the length of her body. The rain was icy and plastered her hair and clothes to her form. It was going to be a long, drawn-out mission if this was how the weather was going to be every day. She had never minded the rain before, but this was just completely miserable. The country was mostly hot and muggy, but the closer they got to the Hidden Rain Village, the colder the temperature became.

So now, on the outskirts of the village, Sakura was thoroughly annoyed with the weather. At the moment, it was freezing rain, chilling her. But Itachi had warned her that when the rain stopped, it would feel like she was traveling through a jungle because of the humidity. She would feel sticky and gross, but not be overly hot, instead being chilled.

"Sakura, come." Sakura's head turned down to Itachi, who had appeared suddenly at the base of the tree. "You're becoming too cold; use your chakra to warm your body. You were not even aware that I had come back." Sakura nodded numbly, focusing her chakra to her core. Soon enough, warmth flooded back through her veins, giving her enough focus to continue on her mission.

She dropped from the tree, trailing behind Itachi. It didn't take him long to re-navigate through the village, expertly weaving through the streets until he approached the tallest tower in the village. Sakura took a deep breath, staying silent when he grabbed her, hoisting her up into his arms. She had expected him to jump up to the top of the tower. While she could easily follow him, they both had to act like she didn't have a way to escape him. At least for the beginning of the mission.

He jumped up the walls using his chakra, while Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, carefully watching their surroundings.

"They must not be that great of shinobi if they haven't noticed us yet," she murmured into his ear. His hold on her tightened as he finally came to the window. He slid inside, still not responding to Sakura's earlier comment.

"No one will have expected anyone to come into this building so effortlessly. It was the old Akatsuki headquarters. I have avoided all of the traps and I have entered through an entrance that most are not aware of, besides old members. I do not believe they have altered the traps or the building since Nagato and Konan's time here."

The room they stepped in was lit only by the dull light from the windows. Itachi placed Sakura on the floor, keeping a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly. She nodded. He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly to his chest. She closed her eyes, feeling her breath hitch when he took off through the building. Sakura still couldn't believe how fast Itachi could move; she had seen him fight at such ridiculous speeds before, had seen him travel at the same speeds, but had never been with him when he had traveled so fast.

The next time she opened her eyes, they were standing in front of the leader and his three commanders. The two women jumped back, instantly going into a defensive position. The other male flinched, withdrawing a sword. Only the leader of the group remained unsurprised at Itachi's sudden appearance.

"Wh-who are you?" The woman to the left of the leader asked. Sakura glanced at her, seeing a fairly pretty woman. She had dark brown hair and wine-colored eyes; she was smaller than Sakura, extremely petite, and almost frail looking. Her eyes were large and gentle looking, unsettling Sakura. How could someone that looked so honest and innocent be in such a bad group?

The other woman let out a quiet gasp, and Sakura turned her eyes to that woman. She was eyeing both Sakura and Itachi, seemingly recognizing the two. This woman was much fiercer looking. Her hair was long and wavy, her eyes an icy blue. This woman was taller than Sakura, her figure much fuller as well. She was beautiful, much to Sakura's chagrin.

"Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno." A cruel smirk graced Itachi's face and he nodded. His hand tightened around Sakura's waist, holding her in place. The three shinobi flinched and the smaller woman began to stutter out protests.

"You're supposed to be dead! You died over six years ago!" Itachi's smirk grew, unnerving all the shinobi there.

"I was, wasn't I?" The leader in the chair, a pale, almost sickly looking man, nodded. Sakura looked at him closely, seeing his limp black hair hang loosely over one side of his face. His eyes were milky and almost a golden color. He was skinny, but there was something about him that made Sakura feel like he was extraordinarily dangerous. If she hadn't been standing next to one of the most powerful shinobi in existence, Sakura probably would have been fearful of the cloaked leader.

"What brings the former Akatsuki back to his base?" the man asked, his voice a light, clear tone. He was keeping his calm, something Sakura had to commend him for. After all, if a famous Akatsuki member, S-class criminal, and someone who killed his entire clan suddenly appeared in front of her, after he was supposed to be _dead_, it would freak her out.

"I have come to take a position in the group."

"Why?"

"This was my former base. I have reasons for what I do and why I have come. Though, in part, as the only remaining Akatsuki member, I see it is my duty to gauge what you have done with my former comrade's organization and village." The man nodded lazily, flexing his fingers.

"And the Fifth's apprentice?"

"She is with me." Itachi's hand tightened possessively. "However, I have heard that you need a medic. She is going to heal what is needed." Sakura's eyes narrowed into a glare unconsciously; she couldn't help the reaction- she hated how Itachi commanded what she would do, even if it was keeping in his character for the mission.

"She is not here willingly," the leader continued. Itachi nodded, agreeing. He lifted up the hem of her black shirt, showing the glaringly bright crimson seal on Sakura's left rib cage. Itachi had drawn it with his chakra before they had arrived in the village, and while it did have some actual properties to it (a tracking seal of some sort, Itachi had explained to her), it looked close enough to the killing seal Itachi was telling the group he had placed on her to fool them.

"It will kill her if she tries to leave. She understands this."

"I have not heard anything about the famed Hokage's apprentice being captured." Itachi raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Do you expect the Hokage to announce her famous pupil has been captured by a nin who is supposed to be dead? It would assuredly not look well on her village. She will not be saying anything for some time."

"Sakura-san," the man turned his eerie eyes to her, "you have not said anything." She winced, feeling Itachi's fingernails did into her skin.

"She is not to speak," Itachi told them. "She will take orders only from me. She does not work for this organization, but for me. She is my property." Sakura bit her lip, trying to calm her boiling blood by reminding herself that Itachi was acting like he was supposed to be seen as.

"As you wish, Itachi-san. We have no qualms with letting you into this organization. As it is, we do not have any way to refuse, do we? You easily outmatch us, and Miss Haruno is a force to be reckoned with." Itachi nodded. "Please, Yuki, show the two to an empty room. I will contact you all later." As the brown haired girl, Yuki, began to lead them away, the leader snapped his fingers. "Ah, I have not introduced myself or my comrades. My name is Takamiya. The two women are Yuki and Ruka. The male is Kaito." Itachi nodded his head in greeting, turning to follow Yuki. His hand gripped Sakura's arm, guiding her along with him.

Sakura could observe from Yuki's tense form that she was obviously uncomfortable around the two of them. It was odd that the girl was one of the ones in command, yet she seemed so nervous. Quietly, Yuki gestured to a door, murmuring it was their room.

"The bathroom is three doors down, across the hall. Please make yourselves comfortable. Takamiya-sama will send someone to get you later. Excuse me." Yuki bowed her head, briskly walking away. Itachi waited until they were inside the bedroom to release his grip on Sakura's arm.

She sighed loudly, collapsing on the bed.

"You're wet, Sakura. Go change." From within his black cloak, he withdrew a scroll. A few hand seals later, two bags were unsealed, one of which was Sakura's. Groaning, Sakura took it, ruffling through her things to find her spare clothes. She withdrew an identical black shirt and matching pair of pants.

"The bathroom is three doors down, right?" she asked him. He nodded, looking out of the window. She frowned, but exited the room. She found the door for the bathroom and knocked on it, making sure no one was in there first. Hearing no response, she turned the knob, finding it unlocked, and entered the room.

The bath was old fashioned looking. There was a spigot protruding from the wall, a stool in front of it, and a small drain underneath it. Beside the stool, a basket held soap and shampoo. Then the actual bath, which was sunken into the ground, was to the far side of the wall. It looked relaxing enough, Sakura thought, and big enough for two to three people.

She stripped off her wet clothes, quickly changing into another outfit. Sakura ran her fingers through her damp hair, taking in her appearance in the mirror. She stretched, feeling her muscles try to relax. Her appearance was decent, considering the past three days of travel to the Hidden Rain Village.

Gathering up her soppy clothes, Sakura exited the bathroom. It was her luck that she managed to run into one of the members from the rogue organization (what were they called? _Sora_ or something like that?), and a man a that.

"Excuse me," Sakura told him, trying to sidestep the lean man. His brown eyes flickered to her and slowly, a lewd smile spread over his face. He gripped Sakura's arm, holding her in place.

"I've never seen you here before. Quite a pretty face, I must say." Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You look like the Hokage's apprentice," he commented lowly. Her fist clenched and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I _am_," Sakura hissed. He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling even more. Sakura recoiled in disgust, trying to snatch her arm away from him. "Don't touch me!" His grip only tightened, and he drew the woman closer, close enough Sakura could feel his breath on her face.

"We don't have many women here- four; two lower grunts, who are butt ugly, and two commanders, who are gorgeous and untouchable. And now, there is you. And you have no claim. We'll have our way with you." Sakura's breath came out in short pants, her blood boiling.

"_Excuse me_?" she asked shrilly. The man forced her against the wall in the hallway, making Sakura lose all restraint on her anger. She would blast this man through the building! "I'll-" Sakura couldn't finish her threat because the man was suddenly slammed against the opposite wall, his throat clenched in the hand of Sakura's very protective partner.

"I have a claim on her," she heard him hiss. "And you will never touch what is mine. Spread that to all your friends."

"I-Itachi Uch...Uchiha." Itachi dropped the man, stepping back to Sakura's side. "You're... you're supposed to be dead."

"Sakura Haruno is _mine_, do be sure to tell that to all of your comrades. I will not tolerate anyone touching her." A hand curled around her arm, pulling her closer to him. The man nodded, scrambling up and away. Sakura and Itachi said nothing as they walked back into their room.

"Stay with me at all times, or in this room, okay?" his voice was slightly gentler than what it had been during the entire mission. Still, it wasn't anything like how he spoke to her at home. "Those men are deprived, it seems, of women. You are the prettiest thing that they can try to have access to. Therefore, I do not want you to be alone, especially with any of them." He saw Sakura's look and sighed, sitting on the bed, leaning up against the headboard.

"You know I can take care of myself," Sakura told him hotly.

"That is not why I'm concerned. I know you can, Sakura. But you're to be the medic, and honestly, I'd like to use you as my ace-in-the-hole. I don't want you to reveal any of your fighting techniques. Even with knowing what you can do, they do not know exactly how you fight. You would have the upper hand." He gave a small half grin, to which she tilted her head curiously. "Let me protect you in this mission, at least for now, Sakura."

"I hate to be protected, you know that, right?" His half grin became a full blown smirk.

"So I have found out. But, humor me and allow me to do this. It is for our success." She sighed, nodding.

"I understand. I'll do what you ask of me." She sat on the bed, leaning up against the headboard beside him. Their shoulders brushed against one another, due to the bed hardly being large enough for the two of them. Both knew they would be sharing the bed for the duration of the mission, and neither wished to bring that fact to light. Some things were just better to do without speaking about it.

"Itachi... What do you think about his guards? Yuki, Ruka, and Kaito? And Takamiya? He makes me wary." Itachi nodded.

"The girl, Yuki, looked fearful. She reminded me a little of you-" Sakura huffed in indignation-"but a weaker version of yourself. I believe she is proficient in some type of talent or weapon. Maybe a kekkai genkai of some sort. Ruka seemed to be the exact opposite. She reminded me of Konan, with how cool and calm she acted. I believe Ruka is a more well-rounded shinobi. She may have one or two special abilities. Kaito seems to be pure force. Something like Naruto, I suppose. He will have extremely powerful ninjutsu and taijutsu combinations, I would say."

"That's what I figured," Sakura told him. "And Takamiya?"

"What do you think?" She pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed in thought.

"I'm almost positive he has a very strong kekkai genkai. He looks frail, but his eyes are too piercing and strong. And he commands those three too easily. He also was not surprised by your arrival, while the other three were. I think he must be the strongest of the three there, even though I'm not sure what his abilities are." Itachi nodded.

"I believe you are accurate." Sakura sighed, her head slumping on his shoulder.

"So we have two possible kekkai genkai users, and two powerful shinobi. Not to mention the four sub-commanders that we have yet to meet." He nodded. "Just great. Oh well, we have enough to take them down, right?" He nodded again.

"Someone is coming," he told her lightly. She lifted her head from his shoulder, trying to keep her body relaxed and natural. A few swift knocks on the door and then they heard Ruka's voice.

"Takamiya-sama wishes to see you two." Itachi stood and Sakura followed him, both exiting the door and walking after Ruka. She led them to a large meeting room. Takamiya sat at the head of the table, Yuki sat next to him, a seat empty for Ruka, then Kaito. Four more men sat on the other side of Takamiya. There were two seats left at the end of the table reserved for Sakura and Itachi. Itachi sat beside one of the four men, allowing Sakura to sit next to Kaito, who promptly ignored her.

"As you all can see, we have a new member to Sora. And quite a famous and powerful one at that. I do believe you all know Itachi Uchiha? We all thought him dead, but just like the powerful shinobi he is, he has scoffed in the face of death and returned to the living. But he has come bearing gifts!" All eyes turned to Sakura. "The darling apprentice of the Fifth Hokage. She is to be our medic, but do be warned that she is under Itachi's instruction, and not our own." Takamiya leaned on hand, staring at Sakura.

"Now, Miss Haruno, I do wish to know if you are willing to heal some of our members today. We had a group come back from a rather bad mission and they are not looking too well." Sakura looked at Itachi, who nodded. Sakura nodded mutely at Takamiya. "Excellent. I'm glad you are feeling up to it. Ruka, if you would be so kind as to show her the way-" Itachi held up his hand, gripping Sakura's arm with his other hand.

"She will remain with me. I will go with her after this meeting has ended." Takamiya's eyebrows flickered in what looked like annoyance, but it was brief, and his easy-going facade returned.

"Of course. If that is what you wish. Then let us continue without hesitation. Our goals are simple in Sora- we want to make Rain a beautiful, strong village to rival the other great hidden villages. Having recently seized control over Rain, we need to remain in control and fight down our opposition in the village. As it is, the previous leaders of Akatsuki were revered as gods to this village, and their death is still heavy over the hearts of the citizens. Konan, their angel, had pledged their allegiance to Naruto Uzumaki, essentially meaning that she pledged them to Konoha.

"This will not do. Rain will never be able to stand on its own if it is serving Konoha's needs, thus remaining in the village's shadow. The citizens, though, are unhappy that we are trying to break ties with the Hidden Leaf. To them, they wish to follow the orders of their leaders. They will never be able to break away from their worship of Pain and Konan."

"So you wish to establish yourself as a better leader than the two who won the village back from civil war?" Itachi asked lightly. Takamiya's eyes flashed for a second before he regained his composure, and he nodded.

"Yes. I believe I can do great things for this village."

"And the lords that were watching over this village? Are they still alive?" Takamiya's grin became dangerous, his eyes showing nothing but cruelty.

"Heh... Physically, yes. But they are nothing but shells. There is no threat from then anymore." Sakura flinched, but Itachi's swift glance stilled her. "I will be leader of Rain. There shall be no one who opposes me. Itachi Uchiha, I ask that you be my comrade. I shall reign, and you shall be right there with me. There is nothing we cannot do." Itachi rested his chin on his hand, his eyes staring disinterestedly at Takamiya.

He took his time to compose his response. "I will do that. We will be partners." Takamiya's eyes practically glowed with ambition. His grin was ridiculously smug and confident.

"With you by my side, every village will fall. You will be my right-hand man, Itachi."

"As it should be."

* * *

><p>"...and make sure to tell her that it sounds like the Rain leaders have been subjected to horrible torture or genjutsu that has destroyed their minds. I have not been able to find them. Arata has been accepted in easily. We are still working on gauging the fighting abilities of the commanders. Arata will have his first mission soon. The leader, Takamiya, is extremely dangerous, though we still don't know how. He seems to have a kekkai genkai of some sort, but we still have not seen it. Okay, Katsuyu, dismissed." The slug poofed away, and Sakura slumped back.<p>

She was tired. There was no denying it. Takamiya made her heal the men continuously- the only one she had not healed was the leader. But soon enough... She and Itachi both believed he would approach her only once Itachi had left on his first mission for the group.

"You're going to be with Yuki and Kaito, right?" Sakura asked again, even though she knew the answer to the question. He nodded.

"Do not leave the room, except to go the bathroom. Make sure no one is around." She nodded, sighing irritably.

"I _know_, Itachi." He raised an eyebrow at her, to which she looked away, embarrassed. She mumbled a "sorry", and he nodded, acknowledging her apology. "I don't like the idea of you leaving."

"I know." They had been there one week. Sakura was sure she had never spent so much time with one male before. They slept in the same bed. They walked everywhere together. He followed her to the bathroom, standing outside the door on guard. He was with her when she healed the men. He sat next to her during meetings. She was taken with him when he trained in the mornings. She ate with him in the kitchen. The only times when they were parted were when Itachi was called out alone (she stayed in the bedroom), or he went to the bathroom (she still stayed in the bedroom).

For his first mission, she was going to be stuck in the bedroom the entire time. That was okay, though. Maybe it would do her some good to be away from Itachi. She almost felt like she was becoming _too_ close to him. The small tingles of pleasure she got when he touched her would surely fade away once they had some distance between them.

At least, she hoped they would. It wouldn't do her any good if she fell for her roommate and partner. Then again, it wasn't like she wasn't already developing feelings for him, and had for the past four months since she had revived him. Like the time he had kissed her forehead. Or the time when he had complimented her in that dress. Or when he had teased her about getting married to him.

"Itachi-sama, it's time to depart." Itachi nodded to Yuki, who Sakura hadn't realized had opened the door to their room. Itachi looked at the group surrounding the door (Yuki, Kaito, and at least four other grunts, and two of the sub commanders) and looked over at Sakura.

He caught her completely off guard. Itachi leaned down, kissing her. It was brief and chaste, a simple show to the others in the doorway that Sakura was in his possession, but it left her dazed. "Stay in your room," he murmured against her lips. She closed her eyes, nodding. She opened her eyes only when he was out of the room, closing the door.

Her heart was beating erratically in her chest. He had just _kissed_ her! She smoothed down her hair, trying to calm down her racing nerves. She couldn't deny that she had enjoyed the feeling of his soft lips on hers. It had ignited a tingling, fiery sensation in her lips that was ready to spread to the rest of her body.

She _wanted_ him to kiss her again. She would be thrilled if he kissed her again, and again, and again. Sakura groaned, flopping against the pillows. There was no use in trying to convince herself otherwise- she was completely and utterly crushing on Itachi Uchiha.

This was going to be a long mission, especially if she was going to try and hide or ignore her feelings for him. Whatever; she would just deal with the situations as they came. No sense in stressing herself out about them.

* * *

><p>Itachi dashed through the trees, his eyes straight ahead. Yuki and Kaito were beside him, both as focused as he was. The mission they were being sent out on would be simple; it was some type of scouting mission. After they scouted, they would then go and meet with some type of trade dealer that worked with Takamiya. Itachi wasn't sure on the details- he planned to find out everything as he went along.<p>

It would be easy enough just to ask Yuki- the girl seemed extremely fearful of him, as it was, so it shouldn't be too hard to get her to talk- but Itachi hated to use fear tactics. Well, she had been ignoring him (and when she was forced to talk to him, she used as few as words as possible) since he had used Sakura in that display. He understood why Yuki wouldn't speak, too. He had thrown her a curve-ball. Itachi Uchiha kiss a girl? That was unheard of. Itachi knew most people thought him to be asexual.

Actually, he had once used to think of himself as asexual, too. At least until Sakura came into the picture. There was no doubt in his mind that he was a human with emotions, hormones, and other such feelings. Not that he was saying that he was involved with Sakura, but there was a certain extent of him that thought of Sakura in a much different sense than he did of any other woman. He did have an attraction to the pinkette, one that didn't stem from a completely physical sense.

Itachi may be handsome, but he was not a very physical creature. He didn't lust after women easily. He didn't lust after anything, easily, really. He knew what his attraction to Sakura was based on- it was her personality in one half, but a lot of the other half was from her actions. She had done more for him than any other person; and she didn't expect much in return, either.

And Sakura did have an entertaining personality. She was aggressive, sometimes rough around the edges, could be a bit of a nag, oftentimes emotional, and wanted everything nearly perfect. But even with all her flaws, she was a sweet girl. Sakura was caring, kind, intelligent, thoughtful, and usually observant. There was an honest desire to do good in her that he had not seen in many women. Sakura didn't want to be around him because he was strong, handsome, or famous. She wanted to be around him because she simply enjoyed his company.

Yes, Itachi silently admitted, he did have feelings to a certain extent for the girl. That may have possibly fueled his willingness to kiss her. But, at the same time, he would never let his emotions blind him to what was necessary- as in, the mission. He would risk his life to save Sakura (after all, he sort of _had_ to save her, because the moment she died, so did he) and would try to protect her with everything in him, but... he wouldn't be swayed by her if it wasn't for the best of the mission. Itachi was not a lovesick fool and never would be. He was still her captain and her superior in rank.

At that, Itachi let out an inaudible sigh, realizing he had been thinking about Sakura much too long. As he often did with things that did not immediately concern him, he pushed Sakura to the back of his mind, figuring he would think about his feelings of the woman at some other time that wasn't during a mission. If he needed to think about her, he would do it at home when he had time to spare.

There were more pressing matters to attend to, anyways. He would speak to Kaito and Yuki about the going-ons in the village and the man they were meeting with. Itachi had the feeling that the two sub-commanders would be a lot more forthcoming with information than their boss. Something about Takamiya rubbed Itachi the wrong way, though he was not sure what.

No matter. Takamiya would not triumph over him; Itachi was not worried. He and Sakura could both take care of themselves. There was nothing to fear.

* * *

><p>"Miss Haruno, may I enter?" Sakura recognized Takamiya's voice. Closing her medical tome, she walked over to the door, unlocking it. She opened it, seeing the leader without his usual cloak.<p>

"Takamiya-san," Sakura greeted. She stepped out of the way, letting the leader enter her and Itachi's bedroom. "What may I do for you?" He showed her his pale arm, a thin cut running down its length.

"It seems I have injured myself. Would you be willing to heal it? I'm quite anemic; I'd rather not bleed anymore." Sakura nodded, placing her palm on the cut. It was healed in a matter of seconds. Takamiya nodded appreciatively, raising his golden eyes to meet Sakura's jade eyes. "You _are_ a good healer. Then may I ask you to examine my torso? I do believe I have something... wrong." Sakura nodded, gesturing for him to lie down on her bed.

He did so, and she rose up his baggy white shirt, judging his tiny form with a critical eye. She could see his ribs through his skin (he was so skinny!), and his skin was nearly translucent. She placed her hands on his chest, sending her chakra through his body.

Sakura could feel a disease of some sort in his lungs. She wasn't going to heal it completely, but she was able to remove a bit of the damaged cells to give him some relief.

"That's the best I can do," she told him, withdrawing her hands. He nodded, pulling his shirt back down. "Takamiya-san, I noticed something else... You have a kekkai genkai, am I right? The bone structure in your back is shaped oddly. Almost like a bird's. You also have a large amount of chakra focused near your shoulder blades." He smirked, standing up.

"You really are a superb medical ninja. You are correct; I do have a kekkai genkai. It is an odd bloodline limit, able to reshape my bone structure and grow certain other bones. Sakura, have you ever realized the meaning of my name? Takamiya?"

"_'Taka'_ means hawk and _'miya'_ means shrine," Sakura recalled, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why does that matter?"

"My family names us after birds. Our bloodline... we have the power to grow wings and fly."

"That's odd..." He smirked, sighing.

"It seems useless. But you have never seen it in a battle." Grinning lightly, he walked closer to Sakura, making her back into the wall. "If you were to see it, you would understand why I am the leader and not any of the others."

"Itachi has a bloodline limit, too," Sakura remarked, not liking the way he was getting closer to her. Takamiya's face noticeably changed into something darker. He was displeased or angry at the mention of his new second-in-command?

"I know. That is why he is still here. He is strong." Takamiya's jaw clenched, but a cruel smirk washed over his face. He leaned closer to Sakura, his nose brushing against her cheek. "But you don't want to be with him either, do you? You were forcibly captured from your village, weren't you?" Sakura tried to shrink back away from him, but his arms came up, trapping her.

"We could work together, Sakura. If you help me, I can free you." A bony finger trailed across her jaw, making her violently flinch. He smirked again. "Itachi doesn't plan to let you go. You can see how possessive he is of you. He wants to take command of this village; I won't let him, Sakura. Work together with me so we can both have what we want." His lips ghosted over her earlobe, his tongue gently roving over the tender skin. Sakura shuddered, trying not to force him away.

"Itachi promised to take me back to my village. He doesn't lie." Takamiya gave a short laugh.

"He's a shinobi, Sakura. _All_ shinobi lie."

"You could be lying, too." Takamiya nodded, trailing his finger around her lips.

"I could be. Who do you trust?" She looked away from him, forcing his hands to break away from her face.

"No one. I trust no one." She took a deep breath, pressing her hands against his chest, pushing him away. "Please, you're too close." Takamiya nodded, stepping a good foot away from her.

"Think about my proposal, Sakura. We could benefit one another immensely."

"I'll think about it," she told him shortly. Takamiya nodded, leaving the room, wishing her a good night. Sakura waited until she was sure he was out of hearing distance, and then let out a long stream of curses towards him.

Furiously, she rubbed at her face and ear, trying to rid herself of the feeling from his disgusting touches. He reminded her of Orochimaru in some ways. But at least she now had an idea of what his bloodline was, and the fact that he did not trust Itachi. It seemed like the only reason he kept Itachi around was because Itachi was too strong to do anything otherwise.

"I'll take you down, Takamiya. Down into the ground."

* * *

><p>Things could always turn out to be so wrong. The man they were supposed to be trading with ambushed them. Itachi had spotted the ambush before they were too far into the trap. Still, a few of the grunts were nearly killed, and Yuki was targeted.<p>

He hated seeing women die. Itachi let Kaito take care of the traitor, while he went after the men attacking Yuki. He was surprised to see her pull out a small rod, that quickly extended into a rod with two blades on it. He took half of her attackers out with a few perfectly aimed kunai, while she used her blades to cleave the other men in half.

Yuki glanced up, smiling lightly at the fact that Itachi came to her rescue. Taking a deep breath, she offered him her water canteen as a peace-offering of sorts. Itachi nodded, thanking her, and took a small sip of the water.

The wine-eyed woman said nothing more, instead turning to Kaito, but both understood Yuki's gesture. She was accepting him as a part of their team.

_Perfect. The pieces fall into place.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"You should play along with him." Sakura raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking Itachi was insane. "Think about it. If he trusts you, then he'll be more apt to tell you his secrets."<p>

"What if he's just trying to use both of us?" Sakura responded, wrinkling her nose as she sniffed her arm. "I need a bath, Itachi." He raised his own eyebrow. "And, I dunno, I just feel unsure about trying to use him, more than we already are. What about the other members? Do they trust you?" He gave a half shrug in response. It had already been about a week since Itachi's first mission. He had been sent on at least five other since then; he was worming his way into the group's trust steadily.

"Yuki does, and Kaito is wary of me, but trusts me to a certain extent. Everyone else is just fearful of me. And Ruka is... well..."

"Yes?"

"I believe she does trust me. More than everyone else here."

"Are you trying to imply that she likes you?" He nodded. "Do you return her affections?" she asked without thinking. He gave her a sharp look that clearly said he did not. She felt her chest loosen, not even realizing that it had tightened unconsciously.

"Has Tsunade-sama replied to your last message?" Sakura shook her head.

"Nothing worthwhile. Something about getting information and battle styles of the members. And she wants me to find the lords and evaluate their condition. Other than that, no." She reclined on the bed, frowning in thought. "I think Takamiya likes me."

"I thought that was rather obvious, considering the fact that you said he licked your earlobe." She bit her lip, shuddering.

"It was disgusting; don't remind me. I can't do that whole seduction thing, if that's what you're wanting."

"You're a kunoichi, aren't you?" She glared, understanding the implication. Kunoichi were trained in matters of seduction and killing; they were supposed to know how to use their bodies to the fullest extent. She huffed at him.

"Yes, I do know how to seduce. But I _hate_ it. Tsunade-sama has always treated me favorably in that aspect and never made me go out on too many of those missions. Can we go take a bath, now? I feel yucky." Itachi nodded, gathering up their clothes, figuring he would take a bath after she was done.

Ruka was standing outside their door, surprising both of them since they hadn't sensed her. Her hand was raised in mid-knock, and she gasped, stumbling back at their sudden appearance.

"Itachi-sama, I was wondering... I mean, there is a mission available and I was hoping..." Ruka began in an oddly frazzled, embarrassed tone. Sakura giggled lightly, pushing past Itachi.

"I'll wait for you," she told him, walking away, not realizing the underlying meaning with her words. Ruka looked from Sakura's arms to Itachi's, taking in the clothes and the direction Sakura was heading, understanding that they were both heading towards the bath. Ruka then drew a further conclusion (one that wasn't accurate) that the two bathed together, thus meaning their relationship was deeper than she had suspected.

"S-she's not just your prisoner?" Ruka asked him quietly, though Sakura's highly trained ears could still pick up on it. Sakura grinned.

"She is mine," Itachi replied, letting Ruka decide what exactly that statement meant. "I do not mind taking another mission. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ruka told him, looking away. "Umm... excuse me." She backed up a few steps, walking slowly backwards, but still carefully watching to see whether or not Itachi would enter the bathroom with Sakura. He walked away, finally deciding to step inside the bathroom, if only to make Ruka more jealous.

Sakura, who was half-undressed, nearly shrieked when Itachi walked in. He was able to slap a hand over her mouth before she could. The pinkette held a towel protectively around her body, her eyes set in a fierce glare.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing in here? Get _out_!" Sakura picked up the nearest thing she could find, which happened to be a bar of soap, and threw it as hard as she could at his head. Itachi skillfully dodged, calmly telling her that he had stepped in the bathroom to make Ruka more emotionally vulnerable.

"More emotionally vulnerable? Are you trying to screw with a girl's emotions?" Sakura hissed, her hand already clenched around the shampoo bottle to throw at him.

"Yes," Itachi replied easily. "I will blatantly show her that I am in a relationship with you, which will make her want to do more to please me. She will be the weakness that we pry within this organization for its secrets." Sakura rolled her eyes, her grip loosening on the shampoo bottle.

"I don't like manipulating others emotions, but it is a good idea. Go ahead. But do you have to stay in here while I bathe?"

"It would be more appropriate, should she be watching." Sakura sighed, defeated, but finally opted to shrug.

"Keep a towel on and we can share the bath tub. It's large enough for two. I used to do this with Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei on some missions." That got a raised eyebrow from her partner, as Sakura sat down on the stool, beginning to scrub her hair. "What? I did have a mission life after the Fourth Shinobi World War. I spent a lot of my time with my team, even after we retrieved Sasuke." She raised her head, feeling her mouth dry at the sight of him.

He had seemed to agree to her idea about sharing the bathtub. He had nothing on his upper half, nor his lower, except a white towel, wrapped around his waist. His hair was unbound, flowing softly around his shoulders. She was suddenly thankful that she had refused to cut it so long ago. It was definitely much prettier long.

"I'll get the water ready," he told her softly. She nodded mutely, going back to ferociously scrubbing her hair, if only to pose a distraction from the gorgeous man beside her. Sai, Naruto, or Kakashi had never made her feel like _this _before! She ran the soap over a washcloth, scrubbing her body quickly. Feeling sufficiently clean enough, she stood up, clutching the white towel around her body, trying not to let her red face show.

"Your turn, Itachi," Sakura told him. He nodded, letting her get into the tub while he went back to wash off at the stool. She slid into the hot water, enjoying the way it seemed to instantly relax her muscles.

"You are very close to your genin team. It's not that common for most teams to remain so close, especially after becoming jounins." Sakura had her eyes closed, but she nodded.

"Even if we wanted to separate, Naruto would never let us. Because of his childhood, he's a bit clingy to the friends he makes. We were his first real friends. There was no way he would ever let us fade away. And we all worked well together. Sai, of course, was Sasuke's replacement, but it was not a bad replacement. In many ways, I like Sai much more than your brother- no offense."

"When Sasuke is released from prison, do you want him back on your team?"

"I'm not sure. It just depends on whether or not he's changed. If he has... then sure. I'm forgiving." She threw a grin over her shoulder, meeting Itachi's amused eyes. A few minutes later, Sakura felt the water stir as Itachi joined her in the bathtub.

"You are used to male's close proximity, then?" Sakura grinned, keeping her eyes closed.

"Yes and no. I'm used to Naruto, Sai, and somewhat Kakashi's proximity. But that's it. I've gotten more used to you, considering the fact that I revived you and healed you and all that jazz. And that we've lived together for the past four months." She cracked an eye open. "And you? You used to women's proximity?" He gave a short laugh.

"Definitely not."

"But you're gorgeous!" He shook his head, laughing again.

"Thank you, Sakura. But, when I was... alive, I guess, I was a bit involved with my own problems. The last few years of my life I spent fighting off my disease and planning my death by Sasuke's hand. I didn't even bother to think of women." Sakura smiled softly at him.

"Maybe we're more alike than we thought, then." She looked down at the water, almost sadly, thinking about her lack of love life. Itachi seemed to notice and splashed some water at her. She looked up, shocked. He flicked some more water at her.

"Y-you!" Sakura laughed, splashing him back. She slid closer to him, sticking her tongue out at her partner. "I should dunk you under the water!"

"As if, Sakura." He flipped some more water up, hitting her in the face with it. There was some surreal quality about their interaction. Sakura couldn't believe that she was sitting in the same bath, splashing water back and forth, with the famous Itachi Uchiha. She would never have believed that he could be such a... human person. He was actually nice, gentle, protective... He was so radically different from Sasuke, that Sakura could hardly believe this was his older brother. She could hardly believe that this same man that she had hated so passionately just a few years ago.

Sakura Haruno would have never believed that Itachi Uchiha could have a human side to him. She never would have believed that he could feel and use his emotions. She never would have imagined that he could treat others kindly and even _play _around. She never would have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

But he _could_. Itachi was just as human as she was, even if he tended to repress his emotions, hormones, feelings, and anything else that he found unsatisfactory to his career. But when he allowed himself to act like a regular person... Well, Sakura was realizing that he could be a lot of fun.

"You know, Itachi, I never would have imagined that you could be like this," Sakura told him softly, settling beside him. He looked over at her, intrigued with what she had to say. "I imagined you being sort of standoffish and arrogant; and while you can have those traits sometimes, you're nothing like I thought." Her light smile told him that she was teasing about him being arrogant and standoffish. "You're actually a really cool guy. If there is one decision I'm so glad I made, it was to revive you. I wouldn't exchange it for the world."

"Heh. Thanks, Sakura." She felt like the atmosphere had become a little too serious for her, so she quickly switched subjects, deciding to fall back onto their mission. He accepted the change of topic, and they heatedly discussed their next step. Sakura couldn't help but forget that she was sitting in a bath tub with her technical team captain, but really began to believe that she was just a regular partner spending time with someone she cared so much about.

"So you're going to try and use Ruka to turn against Takamiya?" Sakura clarified. He nodded, running a hand through his wet locks. "You think it'll work? Just by being nice to her? Girls aren't always so easy to figure out." He gave her a long look, making her huff. "Don't even try to say that you understand all girls."

"What do you think then, Sakura?" She fidgeted, knowing deep down that his plan would likely work. She just wanted to be difficult with him.

She sighed, admitting, "Yes, it'll work. She seems tough on the outside and serious, but deep down, I bet she'd do anything for someone she respects. I think she likes you enough, so that by just being nice, which is going to be seen as odd for someone like you with your reputation, it'll melt her icy heart." Sakura giggled. "If you catch her when she trips, or block an attack, or compliment her fighting skills... it'll make her happy. It'll endear you to her."

"I can do that." Itachi nodded. He sighed, leaning back, raising his arm out of the water. "We should probably get out. We've been in here for quite a while, Sakura." She nodded, both of them getting out at the same time. For some reason, it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would- the sight of him in a wet towel hanging loosely around his waist.

Well, it did make her stomach flop pleasantly, but that was fine with her. It had been some time since she had been able to freely admire a gorgeous male body.

"You're staring," he told her, turning his back to her. She debated between lying through her teeth, apologizing for staring, or just admitting that she enjoyed the sight of him.

"I am," she finally said, taking another towel to dry off. They had their backs turned to each other, respecting each other's need for privacy. It didn't take long for them to dress and leave the room. At first, Sakura felt it might be awkward when they got back to their room (considering the fact that they had just bathed together) but it felt like nothing really changed. Sakura sat on their bed, pulling out a medical text to read. Itachi opted to do a series of stretches, since he didn't go out to train as much as usually did.

"Are you trying to hide your abilities the best you can?" she asked him, raising her eyes to watch as he did a particularly interesting series of kicks and flips. He nodded, not stopping his fluid moves. "You should teach me some of that. It almost looks like you're dancing."

"Get up and join me, then," he responded, lowering his body into full splits. She put aside her medical encyclopedia, doing as he wished. She mimicked his movements, which he had slowed down so that she could follow easily, and they fell in sync. When he slid forward, she did too. When he kicked upwards, so did she. Soon enough, he was doing his complicated movements again, which Sakura was able to follow.

Sakura slid into the splits, curiously looking up when Itachi did not join her. He was looking over her form, nodding slowly to himself.

"What?" she asked him.

"You are very graceful and flexible, even for a kunoichi. It's impressive." His praise made her beam, and eagerly, she began to explain why.

"Tsunade-sama drilled into me how important it was to be able to avoid anything on the battlefield. Part of my dodging training was how to move every part of my body in any way. She made me become so flexible." Itachi held out a hand to help her up, which she took, standing up. Grinning, she lifted her leg straight behind her head. "See? She'd make me hold this position for hours while I was healing." He nodded, smirking lightly.

"No wonder there is only one true apprentice to your mentor. She's rough."

"I wouldn't have had it any other way, though." He looked her over, and Sakura almost swore that his eyes turned soft (but this was Itachi, and there was nothing ever soft about him, besides his hair).

"No, I'm sure you wouldn't have." He gestured vaguely to the bed. "Come on; let's retire for the night. Tomorrow will be a long day."

* * *

><p>She was healing when he returned. Her hands were plunged into a man's chest, her green chakra slowly mending the gaping hole in his chest cavity. He waited patiently by the door, watching her work.<p>

Finally, after several long minutes, she withdrew her hands, shaking off the excess blood. Sakura stood up slowly, stretching her sore muscles.

"How'd it go, Itachi?" Sakura asked without turning around. He said nothing, instead taking a few quick steps to her side. He brushed a piece of her hair away from her ear, leaning down.

"It worked. She is on my side." His light whisper sent involuntary shudders down her spine. "Now we are going to begin the second phase of our plan. She let slip where the men are hidden; we will go tonight to see them." They both heard incoming footsteps. To fit with their fake relationship persona, Itachi wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping his lips close to her ear.

To any onlooker, they would automatically assume that the two shinobi were sharing a very intimate moment, instead of discussing how to take down the organization. Which, when Yuki walked into the room, Kaito trailing at her heels, they both assumed what Itachi and Sakura wanted them to.

Itachi pressed his lips to the shell of her ear, easily whispering that they would go to see the lords that night. Sakura nodded, letting her body relax in his hold. Yuki awkwardly cleared her throat, and Sakura faked a flinch, trying to part from Itachi's arms. He only tightened his hold on her, as was expected.

"Itachi-sama, Takamiya-sama wishes to see Sakura-san. He needs her healing abilities. But he wants you to come with us; the three commanders have a mission, and you are to lead us." Itachi nodded, slowly parting from Sakura's body. "We know you just returned with Ruka-san, but there are rogue ninjas close to our village."

"Of course." Itachi followed the two other commanders out, while Sakura rechecked her former patient, making sure he was sleeping soundly. Then she left to see Takamiya. The Sora leader was reclining in his bedroom, his door wide open.

"Ah, Sakura. Please, come in." Sakura gingerly stepped into the room, her fingers tingling with suppressed chakra.

"You need me to heal you?" she asked him. He smirked, waving a dismissive hand.

"We'll worry about that later. I want to spend some time with you, though, Miss Sakura." Sakura regarded him warily. "I know, I know; I've seen how you look at Itachi. You told me earlier this week that you would think about my preposition. But I believe we both know that you blindly trust that man." He leaned forward, trailing a finger along her jaw. "So I want to try and sway your opinion on him."

"You can't." He grinned, letting his fingers lock into her hair.

"Are you telling me that you love him?" Sakura swallowed hard, curtly shaking her head no. "Of course not. He's an S-class criminal who stole you from your home. What hope of a future do you two really have together?" He leaned in closer to her, his breath mingling with hers.

"Are you suggesting that we could have a future? You don't even know me." Takamiya let his hand slide down her jaw. She wanted to punch him away from her, but she remembered Itachi's request to try and use him.

"I would like to, though, Sakura. I could see you at my side for all eternity. You could be the leader of this village." He swept a hand out, as if he was encompassing the entirety of the Hidden Rain Village. "The citizens will come to adore you."

"I belong in the Leaf Village. You know that." Sakura looked down, wishing with everything in her that he would stop touching her. Instead, though, he pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth, not quite kissing her on the lips, but close enough to have definitely crossed the line.

Recoiling, she pushed away from him, her eyes wide with panic. "Don't!" Sakura didn't care if she was a twenty-two year old woman, and that it shouldn't matter when someone kissed her, but she had always been a romantic at heart, and dang it, she wanted her kisses to be _special_! She didn't want any old person to come up and kiss her, especially some man that she was secretly scared of and vaguely disgusted by.

"I don't like you like that!" Sakura told him, instinctively recoiling into herself, if only to guard herself from any more of his advances. "Please, stop." Takamiya sighed, stepping away from her.

"I'll continue to respect your wishes, if only because I know how attached Itachi is to you. But I promise you that you will stay here with me. For forever." Sakura bit her lip, swallowing hard. "You will be mine, Sakura." She lightly shook her head. "Oh, but once your captor is out of the picture, you'll have no choice but to obey me." There was an opening and Sakura was not going to let it slip through her fingers.

"What are you talking about? Itachi isn't going anywhere." She gripped Takamiya's shirt almost desperately, though it was an act, but Takamiya seemed to believe her worried eyes. "You won't be able to touch him."

"He is very strong. But even the strongest ninja fall sometimes. Everyone has a weakness; it's only a matter of time until I use his against him. And then where will you be without your Itachi, hmm?"

"Itachi has no weaknesses." Takamiya leaned close to her again, smiling an eerie grin.

"Why, I'm looking at his weakness right now." Sakura had figured he was going to say something like that, but she still acted shocked, retreating from him.

"I'm not his weakness!"

"Oh, but you are, my dear. And I will make sure to break him." There was no acting when Sakura shook her head, venomously disagreeing.

"You'll never break that man. It is impossible." Takamiya stepped closer to Sakura, touching her gently. "You know nothing about him."

"You really do love him, don't you?" He shook his head, leaning his forehead against hers. "I won't let you go, Sakura. You're too strong. You could be too good for this village." His grip tightened on her, his hands squeezing her upper arms almost painfully. "You are too much of a key to my success. You could get rid of Itachi for me."

"I won't." His grin turned cruel.

"But you will. It's time for you to understand why I'm the leader of this group. Why I will fight against Itachi, and keep you at my side for all eternity." She looked into his eyes, that seemed to glow even more brightly, and recoiled at the predatory look in them. "Come, sweet flower, to my side." She looked at him blankly, watching as he took in a deep breath, opening his mouth as if to scream.

A horrid shriek was released from his mouth, blasting her back onto his bed. Talons grew from his hands, the long, sharp claws perched dangerously at her throat.

"A hawk has other abilities besides flight," he whispered in her ear. "You're defenseless without Itachi, aren't you?" Sakura swallowed hard at his sudden hostility. "I will keep you in my room; a caged bird. You are my prey now, Sakura Haruno." She closed her eyes, wondering how mad Itachi would be if she pounded their leader into the ground.

Gently, she brushed her fingers over the tracking seal Itachi had put on her, using the smallest bit of chakra to activate it. She felt the seal warm under her fingers, quickly fading away after a few seconds. She had never let her eyes waver from Takamiya's, and she could only hope that Takamiya hadn't noticed what she had done.

Itachi had explained the true intentions of the seal only recently to her, when he had went to renew it. It was a tracking seal, but it was also a connector seal to the two of them. If he needed her, he could activate the seal so that she would be transported to his side. She could activate it to alert him that she was in danger, too.

"My sweet, sweet blossom..." Takamiya leaned down, sticking his nose in her hair. "I could kill you so easily, you fragile flower. I want you by my side. I'm infatuated with you." His talons pierced her skin, drawing thin beads of blood down her neck. "Beautiful, beautiful flower."

There was a faint buzz of warmth from her seal, letting her know that Itachi had activated it. She took a deep breath, trembling as Takamiya pierced her neck a little more, drawing a steady stream of blood. Sakura closed her eyes, feeling the seal steadily heat up, beginning to burn into her skin. She pressed it again, and as she opened her eyes, staring into Takamiya's dangerous golden ones, she watched the rising shock and flash of unrestrained rage as she disappeared from his sight.

The next second, she was in Itachi's arms, panting heavily. She raised her hand to her bloodied neck, healing it.

"I know his abilities now," she whispered into his ear. He nodded, not responding to the rapid questions fired at him by his other teammates due to Sakura's sudden appearance in his arms.

"I must finish this mission. You will report what you have found," he told her, and Sakura nodded, understanding he was referring to reporting to Tsunade.

"You can put me down," she told him, not bothering to really lower her voice. He smirked, shaking his head. Sakura could tell it was an act, and glancing sideways, she could see Ruka's fierce glare directed towards her. Itachi was trying to make the other woman jealous and it seemed to be working.

"I enjoy you in my arms," he told her in a low voice. Ruka seemed to have heard his comment because she suddenly tripped. It seemed to be the opening Itachi was waiting for because he easily turned his focus on the other woman. "Are you all right, Ruka?" Sakura noted the casual way he said her name. She felt something bitter burn in the pit of her stomach, dreadfully recognizing the emotion as jealousy. Sakura pushed the feeling away, comforting herself with the fact that Itachi was merely acting that way with Ruka. He had no real feelings for the woman, especially considering he was going to have to kill her soon enough.

The rest of the mission went in a blur, but Sakura was able to pay enough attention to the other fighters to determine their respective abilities. Yuki, much like Itachi had suspected, was an apt weapon user, expertly wielding a powerful staff with blades (it resembled a double-bladed scythe, almost). She also seemed to have an affinity for genjutsu and used that skill quite often. Ruka was the most well-rounded, able to fight and use an array of jutsu. She, too, had an affinity for genjutsu, and seemed to rely on it more than any other skill. Kaito was a powerful taijutsu and ninjutsu user. He was like a whirlwind of force and was able to quickly take out his opponents.

They were all as Itachi and Sakura had predicted. Sakura had the strangest feeling that once she saw the condition of the lords, the two of them would probably have almost enough information to take out the group. And they had only been there a little over two weeks. Tsunade would be proud.

"We're finished here. Let us return home." Itachi gathered Sakura up in his arms, but stopped, looking carefully at Ruka. "You are injured. Sakura, heal her." Sakura could tell from Ruka's face that the woman was both flattered that Itachi had noticed her wound, and appalled that Sakura was to heal her.

Sakura did as Itachi commanded, watching the woman flush in rage and embarrassment.

"Thank you," she gritted out, looking like she wished to rip Sakura's head off her shoulders. Sakura nodded, offering a smile to the red-faced Ruka. That seemed to only antagonize the woman, which had been a part of Sakura's devious plan, and she jabbed a finger at Sakura's chest.

"Just because he likes you doesn't make you..." Ruka trailed off, breathing heavily. Sakura knew the other woman wanted to explode at her but was refraining in fear of upsetting Itachi. It only made Sakura grin wider.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sakura responded coyly, walking back to Itachi, enjoying the way Ruka's face nearly turned purple from rage.

"Now," Itachi commanded, "we depart."

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><p>She shook her head, withdrawing her hand. He let out a hiss of air, gritting his teeth. Stonily, he gestured for her to get up and follow him.<p>

The two rushed down the long corridors, carefully masking their chakra, as they expertly moved in the darkness that cloaked them. Neither shinobi made a sound, even as they scaled up the walls, and exited the building.

It was raining, as usual, but that didn't impede their journey. The two moved in a blur, rushing through the mud and puddles, still as silent as they were in the building. It wasn't a long journey back to their base and it was the dead of the night.

The two shinobi on guard duty lazed around the entrance, both drifting off to sleep. She slid up behind them, her fingers glowing a pale green, as she pressed them to their necks. The dozing pair fell into a deep sleep, allowing the wet shinobi to slip into the building unhindered.

They had yet to speak, and even once in their room, both stripped to the bare minimum, they still had not opened their mouth. Only after they had rid themselves of the muddy clothes and had changed into another outfit, did she open her mouth.

Her voice was not directed at him, though, and instead, she had summoned her animal, issuing orders for an emergency connection to her leader. The slug nodded and soon enough, she was connected to her mentor.

"It is a failure. There is no way to save the lords. There is nothing left in them, Tsunade-sama. What are we to do?" Despite the fact that Sakura was not speaking directly to her mentor, but through their shared summon, she could still feel the groan and string of curses that her mentor let out.

A few seconds later, Katsuyu repeated Tsunade's order.

"She says to give a full report and then she'll decide." Sakura looked at Itachi, and slowly, both began to recount everything they had learned about the group in the past two weeks. An hour later, they were finished with their recounted information. There was a longer pause before Katsuyu repeated Tsunade's orders.

"She says to finish up another two week stay and to get as much information from the villagers as possible. Find weaknesses in Takamiya and the commanders. She says for Itachi to continue to exploit Ruka, and maybe even see if she'll betray the organization. If she does, she may be offered some solace in Konoha; if not, she is to be killed." Both nodded. "Furthermore, she says to forget about the lords and make sure to kill Takamiya. He is priority and must be killed. You two have a two week time frame until you are to assassinate him."

"As you wish, Tsunade-sama," Sakura responded. "Is there anything else?" Katsuyu waited a few seconds before responding.

"She says to be safe and that this is the crucial part in not getting caught." Both shinobi nodded. "If that is all, I will be leaving." Sakura nodded, letting her slug disappear in puff of smoke. She turned to face Itachi, who had was now sitting on the bed.

"Two weeks then, huh? What are we going to do?" he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

"We'll think about it in the week to come. I think we've been through enough today and tonight. Let's go to bed." Sakura nodded, plopping down on the bed, easily letting her head slump on a pillow. Glancing up, she saw Itachi's eyes focused on her, or more specifically, her neck. Nervously, she reached up, tracing the thin welts on her skin.

"You healed yourself and they still didn't go away." She nodded. He let his fingers trace her neck, musing out loud, "Maybe it's part of his bloodline. You've never had a scar before, so this must be part of his chakra that blocks your healing chakra." His fingers were gentle, lightly calloused, but they weren't rough on her tender skin.

"I'm sorry. I knew he would do something to you, but I never expected him to nearly kill you. I shouldn't have put you into so much danger." She shook her head softly. "He pierced your skin hard. You were bleeding heavily."

"If he would have dug his talons in any further, it probably would have hit something vital. I wouldn't have let him kill me, though, Itachi. I would have fought back, you know that, right?"

"Yes. He won't suspect it when you do, considering that you never have so far. Your seal," he gestured to the diamond on her forehead, "it can activate and save you, right? Even if he had pierced something vital?" She nodded.

"Yes. But I don't like using this top seal except for in dire emergencies on my life." She showed him the three other seals on her inner wrists and hand. "These three were the additional ones I used to revive you. The problem with having so many seals is that my chakra is stored equally in each one. So I try to keep my forehead one as the least used one so that it will store the most chakra. The ones on my wrist I use often, so they hardly keep enough chakra to make a difference. But the last time I used this forehead seal was when I revived you. And I used it last so that I'd use the least amount of chakra in it."

"Why doesn't Tsunade-sama keep more seals?" She shook her head.

"It's dangerous. I'm not supposed to have this many. It's bad and not very practical." His fingers halted their tracing on her neck, and she went on to explain. "The Yin-Seal, something Tsunade-sama learned from her grandmother, is nothing more than a pocket to store chakra. It takes in so much chakra per day, storing it within the seal. The seal is endless and can never get too full. But the problem comes with having too many. Each seal will take a certain amount of chakra per day; so in essence, it could probably kill you if you run too low on chakra. Furthermore, it just isn't that practical to divide your chakra into so many seals. It makes the main seal less potent." Sakura frowned, deep in thought. "I had to add the additional seals, though, because I needed sporadic bursts of chakra. And, eventually, it can add up to holding more than one main seal, assuming that each seal stores equal amount of chakra per day. It just taxes the body pretty badly." She shrugged. "It's complicated. I'm not doing a great job in explaining it."

"I understand the concept," he told her, his fingers still idly tracing the bright red marks on her pale skin. "We will kill him. I will not allow him to get away with what he did to you."

"Neither will I," Sakura remarked, closing her eyes. His gentle tracing was lulling her to sleep. "Itachi, what will happen when we go back home? Will everything change?"

"I do not know. We will see." The day's work and his fingers were making her mind foggy with exhaustion and relaxation. She could feel her will to stay awake slipping. In her half-conscious state, she could have sworn that Itachi whispered, "I will let you choose where to take our relationship. I am content with what we have now, but we can always have something more."

In the morning, when Sakura was recalling this particular event in her mind, she finally decided that it had been a dream, because there was no way Itachi would ever say something like that to her.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p><em><em>I originally wrote this chapter because I wanted to do a half tribute to all the original ItachixSakura stories out there. You know, the ones where Itachi is in Akatsuki and Sakura gets captured/joined/whatever? This is as close as I can get to that type of plot without screwing with the canon.

And one other thing: I love Sai. He's like my favorite character to write. I want to put him in more. I must work on this...

The few things I want to comment on!

1. If anyone reads _Vampire Knight_ by Matsuri Hino, you'll recognize the character names. Ruka, Yuki, Takamiya, and Kaito all come from that manga. As well as most of their personality descriptions and physical descriptions. They aren't the same characters, but I hate making OC characters for stuff like this. Kaito Takamiya is actually one person in Vampire Knight, but I separated their names. And, also, when Sakura defines Takamiya's name, I used the same translation that they have in the official English manga. According to Vampire Knight, Taka means hawk and miya means shrine. So if that's not accurate, argue with the translators of Vampire Knight :)

2. The ending of this chapter- Did Itachi really say that to Sakura? :D Well, you can decide. But I do know the answer. Tell me if you think he really said that in a review; I'll let you guys know next chapter whether or not he said it or not!

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>_

_The mission continues. Sakura has seen a glimpse of Takamiya's power. But what else can he do? And if Sakura and Itachi are pushed to the edge, what will the two reveal about themselves? Sometimes, there is nothing one can do to save someone else. Look on and watch them die... Revenge can be a powerful thing. _

_**Next Chapter: Teamwork**_

Who will die...?

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><p>Thanks for reading everyone! And for all the reviews! I love you guys :D (And, tell me if you find any mistakes. I usually re-read the chapter when it is in my Document Manager, but I didn't tonight; I only skimmed. This chapter is so long and I wanted it posted tonight; If I had combed it through with a fine-tooth comb, like usual, it wouldn't have been posted for like three more days! lol. I hope everything is fine, though. Thanks!)<p> 


	13. Chapter 13: Teamwork

Well, first off, Merry (late) Christmas! It's already the 26th where I'm at. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. :D Second off, I'm a horrible, awful, terrible person. This is practically _three weeks _late! :O I am so sorry! I've tried so hard to keep this story on a pretty regular schedule but these past few weeks have simply kicked my butt. I hope to be on a regular updating schedule again, now that Christmas is over.

Part of the reason this chapter took so long is because I was stumped on how to edit it. I wasn't pleased with what I had written but I kept editing and editing, and nothing was flowing well. Finally, tonight, everything just came together. At least, I feel like it did. So, now, I'm happy. This chapter is a bit shorter than the past few, though. :(

Finally, before I begin, I'll answer the question I posed last chapter: Did Itachi really say that to Sakura? My answer is this: Itachi would never admit to Sakura that he did. It's most likely that Sakura simply dreamed that conversation- Itachi probably said something like, "Do you want something to change with this relationship? I am content with our partnership." Of course, he could have whispered the ending about having something more ;) That, of course, I'll leave up to the reader to decide.

Now, I'm done. Please, read and review! :D

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><p>Chapter Thirteen<em>: <span>Teamwork<span>_

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><p>They had been at the old Akatsuki base for one month, one week, and three days. They had collected as much as they possibly could about the organization, and both shinobi agreed that it was time to enact their plan and go home.<p>

"Tonight, Sakura, we will kill them all. You've healed every single ninja here, correct?" Sakura nodded. "And you made sure to block off their chakra?" She frowned, but nodded again, annoyed that he thought she might not have done her duty.

"So, the villagers will start the uprising and we will use the confusion to kill them, correct?" Itachi nodded. "We have to protect the villagers, though." There had been a rebel faction developing in the Rain Village ever since Takamiya took control. Sakura had been the one to discover them, and she was able to gather enough information to find out when they were planning to overthrow Takamiya by befriending many of the villagers. They had confided that their rebellion would be taking place soon- it just so happened to be that very day.

"Of course." He gave her a small smirk. "You haven't lost your fighting skill over this lull, have you?" She rolled her eyes.

"Definitely not. I'll show you up when we battle them." He raised his eyebrows, obviously accepting her challenge.

"We shall see then, Sakura." She opened her mouth to retort, but at a sudden explosion and rattling of the walls, quickly closed it. Both shinobi shared a look, nodding, and taking off running down the hallways to the source of the sound.

They found the source in the main meeting room. Takamiya was holding Ruka by the throat, wings expanded from his back, talons piercing into her neck. Blood was gushing down her neck at an alarming rate. The surroundings of the two were in a wreck—obviously Takamiya had caused the explosion. The walls were cracked, the table that had been in the middle of the room was shattered, and all the chairs were in pieces.

"Do you think I take well to traitors, Ruka? How _dare_ you kill my prey!" Sakura glanced over and saw Yuki and Kaito both hesitating at the other side of the room. Sakura watched as Ruka's eyes tearfully opened, and she shook her head.

"I-I didn't… I didn't kill them." Takamiya's hand clenched tighter, drawing more blood out of the woman's thin neck. For a man to have had a disease slowly killing him, he sure could be fierce. It seemed his disease was not hindering his bloodline abilities.

"You were the only one who knew the location! Why are they dead, Ruka?" Sakura glanced at Itachi, wondering what they would do now. It had not been Ruka to kill the lords; it had been Sakura. Tsunade had ordered them to kill the lords so that they could not be used as bargaining chips any longer. It would also give the other villages the right to establish their own government in the Rain Village. It was strictly a political move, considering the fact that the lords could no longer govern. They had killed the lords the night before, considering that they were going to kill Takamiya that day.

"I haven't been… been…" Ruka's eyes shut, tears rushing down her face. "Ita-itachi!" she gasped, begging for help. Sakura looked at her commander, feeling her stomach twist into knots. She hated to watch someone innocent die. Maybe they could recruit Ruka. Sakura didn't particularly like the woman, but she would never let someone innocent die.

Itachi did not return her glances. Her stomach twisted into knots as she watched Takamiya strangle the woman. Sakura's hand twitched with nervous energy. She was a medical ninja. To let an innocent woman die... it was against her vows and against her ninja code. Ruka wasn't going to hinder the mission. Sakura could save her. She had to save her. She glanced back at Itachi, mentally begging her captain to make a move to save the woman dangling in Takamiya's talons. He was as stiff as a board, his eyes watching every move Takamiya made. Sakura closed her eyes, thinking hard. She might potentially screw up the mission. But... but she absolutely could not let someone die because of her own actions. Her hand twitched again; she knew she couldn't let Ruka die like that. Not with her eyes pleading for Itachi to save her. Not when she was really innocent of it all. Sakura opened her eyes, resolute. She _had _to save Ruka.

"I killed them, Takamiya," Sakura told him, stepping forward. From her peripheral vision, she could see Itachi stiffen and glare at Sakura. He was clearly telling her to back down with his eyes. Takamiya glanced over at her, his hand loosening around Ruka's neck. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Blossom, you could not have. You've been with Itachi the entire time, and he sealed off your chakra, except for the healing chakra." As an unconscious thought, Sakura internally exclaimed that Itachi did not have enough power to seal off different types of chakra. Her healing chakra and regular chakra were one in the same. Mentally, Sakura scoffed in disgust at Takamiya's lack of understanding of medical jutsu.

"Let Ruka go," Sakura responded, knowing Itachi was still glaring holes into the back of her head. She had acted out of turn and possibly compromised their mission. But she didn't care. She had to save an innocent life.

"Ruka, huh?" Takamiya asked. Sakura's eyes widened in horror as his hand clenched closed, brutally shoving his talons through her neck. It ripped Ruka's neck to shreds. Balefully, he threw her corpse towards Sakura. "Here she is."

"You monster…" Sakura was enraged. She nearly charged at the man, intent with crushing his every bone. But before she could, Itachi had grabbed her around the waist, holding her back.

"Don't try to defend traitors, my sweet blossom. It only angers me." He sighed, waving over his other two commanders. "There is an uprising going to start in the village. We will go now to… _stop_ it." Sakura didn't like the dangerous glint in his eye. "I want every member assembled. We all go. The villagers of the Hidden Rain need to see how to respect their new leader."

Sakura looked at Itachi, feeling panicked. She found no solace in her partner, especially with his emotionless facade on. He only did what Takamiya commanded, keeping a strong grip on Sakura's arm, and led her away.

Soon enough, all the members of Sora were assembled and rushing out into the rain. Their footsteps were loud and splashed often in the soppy ground covered with puddles. The team was heading out to destroy the rebel forces in the village. Dreadfully, Sakura felt her heart drop. Takamiya was surely going to massacre them. How had he found out about them without their knowing? She had thought that the rebels had planned carefully and were very secretive in their plans. How could they have gotten caught?

More annoying, though, was Itachi's lack of response. Nothing was affecting him. Even with their chakra link, she couldn't feel his chakra the least bit unsettled by this news. At this close of range, she should be able to feel every inflection of his chakra, and there was nothing. He was emotionally flat; it was as if he didn't care, or had expected this outcome. It annoyed her beyond belief- she was freaking out about innocent villagers dying, and he didn't even blink with the knowledge. He was simply made of tougher stuff, she supposed. But that wasn't necessarily a good trait.

"Itachi, Sakura, and Yuki, take a small squad and go guard the rear. Make sure no one gets in… or out." Sakura wanted to protest, but Itachi's swift jerk of her arm stopped it. They did as Takamiya asked and headed away from the group, taking two other ninjas with them to secure the perimeter. Yuki and the two other ninjas went one way, while Sakura and Itachi went to secure the other half of the perimeter.

It wasn't long until Sakura could hear yelling and screams in the background. Takamiya had made it to the rebel force's hideout.

"They're going to die, Itachi," she whispered. He did not respond to her. "We have to save them." She saw his jaw tighten slightly, and Sakura could finally see that he was just as frustrated as she was. Still, he made no vocalization of what they could do. Her frustration at its peak, Sakura snapped her arm out of his hand.

"I'll go save them myself, then!" she told him, whirling around. Itachi was quicker than she was, and had already grabbed her, throwing her to the ground and pinning her down. She drew chakra to her fist, aiming to forcefully remove him from her. Growling at her struggles, he pushed his body closer to hers, gripping her dangerous hands and forcing them beside her body. He lowered his mouth to her ear.

"We will do something, Sakura. But this is not an opportune time. We have to be patient."

"The rebels will be killed, Itachi. You know that! We can't… I can't let innocent lives be killed like that!" There were tears of frustration welling in her eyes. "Yuki has gone with the other two soldiers to secure the other half of the perimeter. We could go back now. We could stop them. We could…" She closed her eyes, frustrated at seeing no support in his. He wasn't planning to save the villagers. "We told them we would be there to help. We would protect them. We... Itachi..." Tears dripped down her face.

"Sakura, you know that if we were to go in there now and attack him, it would cause even more casualties to the surrounding village. He's expecting someone to resist him." She shook her head, clenching his sleeves tightly.

"So you're saying to let them die? We can't… there are children there!" Her form was shuddering.

"He shouldn't kill them. Only the leaders of the forces." Both knew that he was saying that to calm her down, not because it was true. Sakura shook her head again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I have to save them, Itachi. You can come with me or not. But I won't let innocent people die!" She gathered chakra in her arms, this time pushing him off of her. She scrambled up, knowing that there wasn't much time left before Takamiya killed all the rebel villagers.

"Sakura, you'll be killed!" Itachi called out to her, already on his feet. She shrugged, pushing chakra into her feet so she could move faster. "I won't let you die." She was already picking her feet off the ground when he slammed into her, forcing her up against a tree. The rough bark dug into her back as her captain held her there, a fierce look in his eyes. Sakura grunted, tears streaming down her face. He dug his fingers into her shoulders, pressing nearly all his weight onto her. She swallowed, feeling the chakra drain out of her arms. He was serious; he had even activated his Mangekyo Sharingan to use against her if she didn't stop struggling.

Rain had soaked them both to the bone, and distractedly, Sakura noted that their bodies were covered in mud from the time they had spent on the ground. She trembled, both from the cold and the fear. Fear of the children, or Itachi's eyes, she wasn't completely sure.

"They'll die!" she cried to him, hiccuping. Her palms pressed against his chest, though she was not pushing him.

"Let them die! I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself for them." He lowered his face to hers. "I won't lose you, Sakura! I can't lose anyone else precious to me." That made her mind reel off its original track. She looked at him with wide eyes, losing the strength to push him away.

"I…" He shook his head, leaning down and kissing her, tightly holding her there. Sakura's mind went blank as she felt his lips on her, this time rough and passionate. Her heart pounded in her chest and she kissed him back with equal fervor, not caring about the mission, the mud, the rain, or anything else that was wrong in this situation. All she could think about was the warmth on her lips; the spicy taste that tingled her tongue and made her toes curl; and how much she wanted to pull him closer to her body. She wanted that warmth all over her.

Four seconds after he had begun kissing her, a shrill shriek pierced the air, followed by several cries and screams of fear, and then a deafening explosion that rocked the ground and village. After that, there was complete silence.

Itachi broke away from her lips, still keeping her shielded on the tree. He looked around, his muscles tensing as he took in the surroundings. Finally, he turned back to her, closing his eyes.

"What happened?" Sakura whispered, as he leaned his forehead against hers. Her body was still tingling from his kiss. "Itachi?"

"I just saved your life," he responded, finally moving to let her see. She took in the sight with wide eyes, looking at the cracked trees and shattered buildings that led back to where Takamiya was. "You would have been killed had you been in the area at the time." He was right. He had saved her life. It had been too close.

"Thank you, Itachi," she whispered, feeling hollow and on edge. "We need to go see… to see the damage." They were assuredly too late to save the rebels. But at least their own lives were intact. It was not a comforting feeling.

The two took off, following the damaged area. Sakura saw Takamiya before she saw anything else. His back was facing her, large wings outstretched. It took her a few seconds to realize that his wings were red and dripping a substance too thick to be rain water.

"Blood," she whispered, finally realizing that the black-haired man had it splattered everywhere on him. It coated his wings, painted them crimson. She understood why when they had made it to his side.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sakura registered his words.

"Don't look!" She registered Itachi's words too.

And then, in those few brief seconds, she registered what she was finally seeing. Blood coated the ground, limbs and bodies flung around. Everything was dripping with blood and gore. Sakura could see children and babies strung around, some even hanging limply from broken trees and cracked roofs. The adult rebels were unrecognizable because of how ripped apart their bodies were. She made out a hand a few feet in front of her, the glint of a diamond engagement ring glittering on the woman's left ring finger. Everything was red; even the rain was red.

Hands clapped over her eyes before Sakura could take anything else in. She heard ragged pants, slowly realizing that they were her own ragged pants. She was trembling from head to toe, her stomach unsettled. A warm presence held her tightly, and Sakura knew it was Itachi that was keeping her close.

She let her eyes close, feeling tears slip through her eyelids. Sakura wasn't sure if she had ever seen such blood and gore like this; she was familiar with blood, familiar with gore, familiar with death… but nothing like this. Sakura was sure she was beginning to hyperventilate, but Itachi's steady breathing and strong arms helped her keep her calm. Her entire body trembled and shivered; the images stained her mind and burned her throat, while she felt frozen and numb in all of her limbs.

"Does this remind you of your own clan?" Takamiya asked him. "Is this what it looked like when you were finished with them?" The image of the Uchihas (_The kind, black-haired Matriarch torn apart, her diamond ring glinting in the moonlight. The ragged slashes in the stern Uchiha Clan Head's chest, blood gurgling out of his mouth. Tiny Uchiha children in shreds, blood pooling around them. Vermillion droplets running down a long katana, held in a black-haired boy's hand as he surveyed what he had accomplished. A cruel, self-satisfied smirk curled at his lips.)_ filled Sakura's head, blinding her with blood and hollow, black eyes. She could see nothing else, except Itachi's blood-stained sword and that smirk.

She pushed away from Itachi, falling onto her knees, vomiting harshly. Her form shuddered as she spilled the contents in her stomach. Finally finished, she panted, too weak to stand up. She knew that wasn't what Itachi looked like. She knew he didn't smirk over the damage he had caused; not like Takamiya was doing. But... But... the children... Sakura gagged, throwing-up again. She coughed and swallowed down the bitter taste of bile.

"Dear blossom, are you all right?" Sakura had never wanted to kill a man as much as she did right then. Itachi wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest. "Go ahead and take her back to the base, Itachi. She's rather ill." Takamiya smirked. "Too frail, I suppose."

"You _bastard_," Sakura began, breaking out of Itachi's hold. She pushed herself up, her eyes flaring. "I'll _kill_ you." This time, Itachi did not try to restrain her, instead slipping into his own fighting pose as he stood. Takamiya regarded Sakura curiously.

"What can you do, little flower? Itachi has told us that he sealed off your chakra."

"Itachi lied," Sakura told him, flying forward faster than she thought she could. Her chakra-laden fist made direct contact with Takamiya's face, sending him flying backwards. Yuki and Kaito reacted, charging towards Sakura.

Itachi was there to defend her, easily kicking Yuki back, and parrying Kaito's attack with his own katana. Itachi turned towards her, and nodded; it was the cue for Sakura to use her technique. She had only one chance to do this and she had to be in close range of all the members affected. Sakura wasted no time in completing the hand seals necessary to activate the chakra severing jutsu. All of the ninja stopped their charges towards them, all feeling the sensation of losing their chakra. Sakura jumped towards the first man she saw, bringing her heel down on the man's head. Her powerful chakra-enhanced heel-drop cracked the man's skull, and he crumpled, dead, in front of her. She whirled around, sending her fist through another man's torso, not caring of the blood that covered her arm.

Itachi had already taken out three more of the nins. Sakura turned around, kneeing the last grunt in the stomach, watching as he fell down dead from the heavy impact. There were only the four sub-commanders left and then Yuki, Kaito, and the unconscious Takamiya.

The four sub-commanders all charged at Sakura, figuring she would be the easier kill. Yuki and Kaito, on the other hand, decided to go for Itachi.

The four men were strong, but nowhere near the level of Naruto, Itachi, Kakashi, or Sai (who were Sakura's typical training partners). Sakura dodged one of their swords, ducking under another one's fist, and then swung her leg out to knock one down on the ground. She slammed her fist into the ground, satisfied with the giant crater it left in its wake. It sent all four men onto their knees.

She didn't relent with her attacks. There was an anger pulsing in her veins that she had never felt before. A chakra scalpel formed at her hands, easily severing one of the ninja's neck. She sensed the incoming attack, ducking when one of the men tried to take off her head. Sakura elbowed him, letting him spiral back behind her. She had felt several of his ribs crack upon the contact. There were two men left, both charging at her, considering the fact that neither could do ninjutsu with their chakra sealed off.

Sakura slid into the splits as the two nins tried to stab at her from different directions. On the ground, she slammed both of her hands down, splitting the ground into a muddy hole. The men lost their footing, sliding into the hole she had created. Swiftly, she threw herself on her hands, going into a hand-stand, and then propelled herself upwards, dodging the kunai the men threw at her. They had exploding tags on them, but Sakura had expected as much, and was able to twist her body to dodge the blasts.

Landing back on the ground, she drew chakra to her fists, determined to end both of them with one hit. The two men charged at her again, and Sakura drew back her fist to hit one of them, but stopped suddenly when both of the men jumped upwards. She looked up, watching as they threw a barrage of kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags at her.

There was no way she could dodge all of them. Grimacing, she used her chakra filled fists and slammed them as hard as she could into the ground, forcing more and more chakra into the ground. The ground did as she wished it to, coming up to form a protective hedge around her. The weapons rained down on the earth, explosions hardly denting the compact rock.

Closing her eyes, she tried to sense the men. One had landed directly to the left of her, while the other was a little farther away. Sakura turned to the left and charged, smashing through the rock and hitting the man squarely in the chest. There were several crunches as she caved in his ribcage, and the man sort of collapsed into himself, dead.

One man left. Sakura turned her blazing jade eyes on him, waiting in the rain for the man to charge. He seemed to consider her for a few seconds, clearly realizing that he could not beat the Fifth's famed apprentice. Sakura, tired of waiting and certainly on a vengeful streak, gave him no more time to consider his life.

She jumped up into the air, using chakra to send her flying through the sky. He barely had time to register the fact that Sakura was in front of him. He was able to dodge her first strike, taking a small graze to his left arm. He didn't expect her next combo, though, and couldn't avoid the dangerous chakra-powered kick, and then the chakra scalpel. He slid out of the way of the kick and thought he had twisted his body out of reach of the chakra scalpel.

Which, technically, he did. But Sakura's chakra scalpel had been upgraded to the point where she could extend her chakra, thus extending the blade. In essence, the scalpel could turn into a dagger, then into a tanto, and eventually a katana. It was Sakura's way of using a weapon without actually carrying one (besides the tanto she carried on her back, or the kunai in her pouch). The extended blade slit the man's throat, killing him.

Sakura turned back to see Itachi still fighting with Yuki and Kaito. Both ninja were nearly as strong as ANBU members, so it was understandable why he would still be having trouble with them. She wasted no time in jumping in the fray with him, two chakra scalpels glowing from her hands, blocking Yuki's long rod from hitting Itachi.

"Sakura Haruno!" Yuki exclaimed, glaring fiercely at Sakura. Sakura forced away the blade, breaking apart from their confrontation.

"Yuki. I've never understood why you stayed in this organization. You seemed so nice..." Yuki faltered for a second, but her glare returned to its original fierceness. "I hate having to kill you. Why'd you join this place?" Yuki took a deep breath, swinging her scythe down on Sakura again. Sakura moved out of the way, dashing towards Yuki.

"I joined because I wanted to protect Rain. And because... because Takamiya... he..."

"Do you love him?" Sakura sent a downward slice to Yuki's chest, which she narrowly avoided, the chakra blade slicing open her clothes and drawing some blood.

"No. But he was a friend of a man I did love." Yuki delivered a punch to Sakura, which Sakura did not dodge, wincing when Yuki's fist made contact with her chest. "Takamiya was there when my love died... I serve Takamiya for him." Sakura kicked Yuki away, but the woman was able to jab her rod at Sakura at the same time. Sakura skidded backwards.

"That's devotion." Sakura jumped towards Yuki, slashing downwards to parry Yuki's rod. Yuki kicked upwards, throwing Sakura back.

"And you and Itachi? Sakura, you love him, right?" Sakura punched Yuki, barely making contact when Yuki flinched back. Yuki brought her staff down, the scythe blade piercing through Sakura's arm. Sakura hissed, looking at the blade poking through her arm.

"I may," Sakura finally responded. "I do, but I don't know if it's romantically. It's too soon to tell." Yuki nodded, smiling lightly at Sakura's words. Sakura took no time to acknowledge it, though, grimacing as she jerked her arm down, off of the blade. Blood gushed and sprayed from the wound. She took the distraction the blood provided to deliver a punch with the same arm, wincing with the pain. It shocked Yuki that Sakura would hit with her injured arm, so she wasn't able to dodge. Yuki was sent spiraling backwards, landing on her back.

Panting, the brown-haired woman struggled to stand. Sakura moved quickly, hovering over the woman. She placed a chakra-coated hand on Yuki's chest, forcing her back down. There was a glazed look in Yuki's wine-colored eyes.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Sakura nodded, knowing that her punch was filled with chakra that had shattered a few of Yuki's ribs, breaking one or two that had punctured her lungs. Not only that, the force Yuki hit the ground with had broken her spinal column. "Sakura, I think you could do some good with Itachi. I... never got to be with the... one I loved. He..." Yuki closed her eyes, taking a gasping, choking breath. "He wouldn't be with me... Never pine after someone who won't return your feelings." Sakura had a sudden flash of Sasuke.

"I can end it now, Yuki. Would you like that?" Blood dribbled out of the woman's pale lips. She nodded. Sakura placed two fingers on Yuki's jugular, sending a jolt of chakra down the woman's nervous system, quickly stopping her heart. Yuki smiled, slowly closing her eyes as the light faded from her eyes.

"Thank you..."

"Beautiful! Absolutely stunning, my sweet blossom. You're even compassionate to your enemies." Sakura whirled around, horror struck at seeing the ferocious face of Takamiya. He was furious, but lightly, he clapped, smirking. "Congratulations, you and Itachi were simply wonderful by tricking us. Very excellent." Sakura looked over, wildly looking for Itachi. Her partner was finishing up the fierce fight with Kaito, who had seemed to overcome Sakura's chakra suppression. The two were fighting with an array of jutsus. "I mean, really, I never would have suspected that Itachi Uchiha would have teamed up with the village that he had massacred his clan in. Why would I have any reason to suspect him? Very, very clever."

Sakura barely registered Takamiya's words. Instead, she was trying to gauge how long Itachi would be in his fight with Kaito. There was no secret of the fact that Kaito was the strongest of the ninja in the organization, barring Takamiya, Sakura, and Itachi. Itachi had his hands full with him, so Sakura knew she would be on her own with facing Takamiya. She took in her own state; she was not in the best of health, that was for sure.

"I will kill you, Takamiya." Takamiya smirked, flexing his wings. "I don't care what you think, you monster. I'll end you with my two fists."

"You've seen the destruction I can cause. You don't think I can't beat you?"

"You're tired, Takamiya. There is no way you can do that jutsu again." Takamiya only smirked, seemingly asking if Sakura was sure about that. Sakura could only hope he was bluffing, because soon enough, her own energy would fade her.

"Then fight me, Blossom. Let me see how fragile you really are!" Takamiya took off towards Sakura, surprising her with his speed. She barely had time to throw up her arms to block his first hit. It sent her skidding backwards. He came at her again, appearing behind her. He was nearly as fast as Itachi. An elbow was swiftly delivered into her back, the force sending her to her knees.

She grit her teeth, turning around to punch him. But he had disappeared again, his mocking laugh the only thing left in her presence. Taking a deep breath, she looked up, seeing him easily flying in the sky.

Sakura growled, charging upwards at him. Takamiya was able to avoid the punch, bringing his foot down and sending her back down to the ground.

"Still think my bloodline is useless?" No, no she didn't. Sakura grimaced, trying to figure out how to beat him. If she could defeat Sasori, then she should be able to defeat this man!

Sakura didn't have time to think anymore because Takamiya was already on her, hitting her repeatedly. She drew chakra to her legs, kicking upwards, sending him flying. He expanded his wings, stopping his flight.

Wincing, Sakura stood, her mind still racing with some type of strategy to use in the fight. If she could get behind him, she would sever his wings. That would do some damage! Of course, he was so agile and fast, it was hard to match his speed, especially considering the fact that she was starting to feel tired. Fighting the four sub-commanders, and then Yuki had taxed her body pretty well. She still hadn't healed the scythe wound Yuki had given her, and blood was pouring down her arm.

Takamiya was moving again. There was no more time to think. Sakura grit her teeth, jumping to the side when he went to hit her with his sword. At least she was still able to dodge. Sakura deflected his next blow with her chakra scalpel, grinning when she felt his blade break under the force of her chakra. Takamiya growled and extended his talons from his fingers, lashing out at her.

Sakura was not suspecting the sudden movement and could barely flinch away, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow from the hazardous claws. Takamiya ripped her shirt into three large shreds, drawing blood from her chest and torso as they clipped her body. Sakura gasped at the sudden sharp pain, but had enough reason to put distance between herself and him before he could attack again.

She pushed chakra into her feet, springing backwards. Takamiya straightened, letting his claws extend further. He lurched towards her and Sakura avoided, the two of them falling into a rhythm of attack and dodge. She grinned when she found an opening and wasted no time in bringing her palm down, smacking the side of his chest. He froze when he felt her chakra enter his system, and Sakura smirked triumphantly, pushing more of the chakra into his system, continuing to disrupt his nervous system.

She backed away, seeing how Takamiya struggled but could not get anything to function for him. As he tried to move an arm, a leg would twitch. Sakura came at him, using her chakra enhanced strength to grab one of his wings and rip. As she tore the wing from his back, eliciting a scream of pain from him, he overcame her jutsu. The two split apart, Sakura holding one of his precious wings, leaving a bloody mess on his shoulder blade.

Takamiya panted, but turned to her, more rage in his face than she had ever seen. He hissed something that she couldn't understand, and attacked. Despite his pain, he seemed to move even faster, and had pinned her down to the ground, his talons impaled in both of her shoulders.

That got a groan of pain from her. Sakura snarled at him, kicking upwards with chakra in her feet, and sending him flying off of her. It caused the talons to painfully wrench from her skin, and blood gushed from the gouges left from the claws.

Sakura stood up, panting heavily. Her arm was throbbing, and there was a blinding pain from the wounds she had just received. Her chest ached, and she felt bruised and beaten all over. Takamiya was standing up, too, still enraged. Sakura took a quick glance, checking Itachi's progress, and found him still fighting with Kaito. Kaito must have been stronger than Sakura imagined if Itachi was _still _fighting him.

The brief second Sakura had taken to look over was the perfect distraction Takamiya needed. By the time Sakura was refocused on him, he was charging towards her, jumping up at her to get a greater force of impact. Sakura spun out of the way, using her chakra blades to slice him in the back. Takamiya retaliated, whirling around, and clawed at her. She was able to dodge most of the blows, but one talon scraped her face, and another caught her arm, ripping off more of her flesh.

Sakura clenched her fist, deciding to go on the offensive. She began to punch and kick, using several of the combos Lee and Itachi had taught her. Several times, her attacks made contact with Takamiya, and the small amounts of chakra she had in the moves were enough to crack his frail bones. She was sure she had cracked a few of his ribs, his collarbone, and probably a few bones in his arms and wrist.

He was tired of her attacks and whipped around, letting his remaining wing knock her to the ground. He formed a few hand seals and suddenly, blades of wind were flying towards her, slicing up her clothes and body, drawing thin beads of blood from the tiny slits on her body.

"Enough of this, and enough of you," Takamiya told her. "I had no intention of killing you, but you leave me no choice. I will end this now." He drew in a deep breath and Sakura knew what was going to happen. This was the same shriek he had used on her once, the same move he had used against Ruka, and the same technique that was used to kill all those innocent villagers. The shriek would explode outwards and crush her, then brutally tear her apart.

Sakura sprang to her feet and attacked. She made a direct hit with his chest when the special bloodline jutsu erupted from his mouth. At such a close distance, there was no way she would survive; unless she activated her Yin Seal: Rebirth jutsu. Sure enough, she felt the impact, but instead of the gory, bloody mess she was expecting to see herself go through, a hand enclosed her waist, drawing her away from the blast.

Sakura couldn't think about what had happened; instead, she felt like her eardrums had exploded with the powerful sound. She slumped against the skeletal hand holding her, breathing heavily.

"That was too close, Sakura." Her eyes opened and she saw her other teammate, looking relatively fine after his long fight. There were a few wounds on his body, but nothing as serious as her own wounds. "You were nearly killed."

"Yeah, I noticed. Is Kaito dead?" Itachi nodded. "What exactly did you do?" Sakura held a hand to her pounding ears, feeling the blood pouring out. She sent chakra through her ear canal, healing the wounds, bringing back all her hearing capabilities.

"This is the Sharingan's third technique. It is called Susanoo. It is the ultimate defense, and mine is especially strong, carrying both the Yata Mirror and the Sword of Totsuka." Sakura had heard of the relics before, but their significance did not register in her mind. Blankly, she nodded, getting the drift that whatever this _thing_ was, it was protecting her; and that Itachi's version of Susanoo was stronger than the other Uchiha versions.

"We'll work together now. I will fight with him and you will disable him." There was an amused twitch of his lips as he saw Takamiya's appearance. "Did you _rip_ one of his wings off, Sakura?" She grinned and nodded.

"I most certainly did, Itachi." The two dropped down and began walking towards Takamiya within the confines of Susanoo's protective barrier. The man clearly realized he was done for upon seeing Itachi, and was scrambling up and away for dear life.

Both shinobi refused to let him run away. They didn't even have to look at one another to know what to do. Both shot forward, Sakura using her chakra to propel her in front of Takamiya. Itachi sped up, his fingers flying through hand seals for a jutsu. Flaming shuriken shot out from his mouth, all precise and hitting their target. Takamiya was thrown to the ground. The flames ate a little at his clothes, but the rain doused them quickly.

Takamiya flexed his remaining wing, sending gusts of wind from it. Hissing, Sakura dashed through the wind, and gripped his wing.

"This is for what you did to those villagers and to Ruka!" She tugged and ripped his remaining wing off. The male screamed, blood gushing out of his mouth, as his fists clenched so tightly that they, too, drew blood from his hands.

Sakura tossed the wing aside, standing over him. "Your tyranny ends here, Takamiya." She and Itachi both pounced on the man, Sakura crushing his chest in with her fist, while Itachi gave a powerful downward kick to Takamiya's neck, snapping it.

Their mission was over, half a failure, and half successful. The rain seemed to come down in torrents now, but the two were already drenched in water and blood, so it hardly bothered them. Itachi released his control over Susanoo, letting the apparition dissipate.

"That's a cool technique- Susanoo." Itachi nodded, closing his eyes and reverting to his typical onyx. "It takes a lot of chakra, huh?"

"Yes, it does." He sighed, looking up into the sky, letting the rain pelt his face. "We'll look for survivors from the rebel group and see if one of them will take control. Konana and Nagato should have a faction of supporters somewhere that should be willing to take over the village. But before that, let's go back to the base so you can heal." Sakura gave him a grateful nod. "We're nearly done, Sakura. Just a little longer before we can go home."

"I can't wait."

* * *

><p>Sakura had collapsed as soon as they were inside the base. Itachi supported her weight, carrying her up to their shared bedroom. He stripped off what remained of her top, as well as pulled off her pants, leaving her in nothing but biker shorts and her chest bindings.<p>

There were gashes all along her body. He washed the blood off, while Sakura remained half conscious. Finally, he got to the point where he could see all her wounds. She had long slash marks across her chest and torso; deep wounds in her shoulders; another long gash in her arm; several bruises that marred her chest and upper body; and several shallow cuts that didn't worry him too much.

"You have to wake up enough to heal yourself," he told her. Sakura nodded, placing her hands on her torso, mending the skin back together. Next, she worked on her shoulders, and then finally her arm.

"Do you have any wounds?" Itachi nodded, taking off his shirt. Sakura looked at the two wounds he had received, and tiredly healed them. He had gotten a nasty burn on his back and had suffered another long cut on his clavicle.

"Let's rest before we go out," she told him, lying back down. Feeling his own bout of light exhaustion (Susanoo always taxed his body, and it was the first time he had used the technique since his death, causing him to feel even more weary), he agreed, laying down beside her.

It took him a few minutes to realize that she was shuddering. He looked over to see her fighting away tears, as her body trembled. Itachi could only assume it was from a mixture of the shock she had received from the grotesque death Takamiya had caused in the village, and from the overwhelming loss of innocent life.

"It'll be okay, Sakura." She looked up, meeting his eyes. Without asking his permission, she invaded his personal space, clinging tightly to him. Itachi didn't seem to mind, and even wrapped his arms around her, as if protecting her from what she had experienced.

He didn't even seem to mind when she began to cry silently, wetting his shirt. Instead, he just tightened his hold on her, burying his nose into her hair. Eventually, the two fell asleep, taking comfort from one another.

* * *

><p>"We missed your birthday while we were on the mission," Sakura remarked to him. Itachi frowned, realizing that she was correct, and they had indeed missed his twenty-seventh birthday. "We'll go out and celebrate it, just the two of us, okay?"<p>

"We don't have to, Sakura." They were on their way back to Konoha, finally. It was nearing July, and they had been gone a month and three weeks. It had taken forever to get Rain back on its feet, and to clean up the village enough to leave. Eventually, Tsunade called for them to go on home, and that further interaction with the village would be conducted in other ways.

But a new leader had come to power; someone who had been part of the original Rain Akatsuki that Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko had been a part of. They held the same ideals as Nagato, and the village seemed to approve. It was in this woman's hands that Sakura and Itachi left the village to, finally departing for their own home. They were told they were always welcomed to come back, and that Sakura and Itachi were heroes to them. Again, this woman pledged to serve Naruto, much as Konan had done before her.

It was a happy ending, all in all. Except for, of course, all those that had died in Takamiya's blast. But Sakura had done the best she could with healing the injured, and Itachi had helped clean up the sight of the bloody massacre. They couldn't do much else for the village. It was enough, though, and it seemed that in the end, the mission was a success.

"I want to celebrate it, though." Itachi shrugged, deciding that she could do as she pleased. They continued to dash through the trees, relieved to be heading back to Konoha. Sakura could practically smell the village air, taste the steaming bowl of ramen that she always had upon returning home, and hear Naruto's exuberant greeting as soon as he spotted her.

"We're being followed," Itachi told her lightly. Sakura groaned. They were practically to the Fire Country boarder... they were so close to home! "We must take care of them before we get too far."

"I know, I know." Sakura groaned again, gritting her teeth. "I don't want to fight anymore... When do you want to stop to fight them?" Itachi glanced around their surroundings, taking in the trees and listening to the sound of a rushing river close by them.

"We will ambush them at the river. It'll look like we're going to set up camp, so we'll head that way now. We'll use shadow clones to fool them, so that they will try to ambush us, but we will ambush them in return."

"Sounds like a good plan." The two headed towards the river, keeping careful track of the ninjas following them. They both cloaked themselves in the trees, quickly making shadow clones that continued to the river bank. The clones acted as if they were preparing camp, while the real Sakura and Itachi carefully watched the incoming nins.

As the two had figured, their attackers waited a few minutes before attacking the clones. As per usual, as soon as one of the nins made direct contact with Itachi's clone, it exploded in a fiery blast. His blast alerted the nins to their trap, and suddenly, they were all looking around for the real targets.

Sakura and her clone attacked at the same time. Her fist split the ground, throwing the nins off their balance. Her clone came up behind them, grabbing one of the nin's neck and snapping it. There had been nine ninja attacking them; two were knocked out from Itachi's clone explosion, and then Sakura killed the other ninja. Six nins were left.

Three nins attacked Sakura and her clone. One managed to make her clone disappear with a swift earth-style jutsu; the other two came at Sakura with swords. She ducked under one blade, then bent backwards to dodge the next blade. She kicked upwards, delivering the man a face full of foot. Her chakra filled kick easily shattered the facial structure of the nin. Blood gushed from his nose, mouth, nose, and ears. He was down for the count.

Five nins left. Itachi was still in the tree, waiting to attack. All five nins circled Sakura, each forming a hand seal. Sakura wasn't sure what was going to happen, but decided the best thing to do was to react by attacking. She charged.

Itachi moved at the same time, seemingly realizing the need to intervene for Sakura's sake. The two were both a fraction of a second too late. The nins were able to complete their jutsu, blasting an odd stream of dust-looking pollen-like substance on Sakura and Itachi.

The two weren't hurt by the jutsu, but as Sakura looked at it, she recognized the horribly poisonous substance. It would slowly eat through their skin and kill them, unless they got it off of them within the next three minutes. After three minutes, it would be extremely hard to rid themselves on the poison that had seeped inside their body.

Sakura knew they didn't have time to finish off the nins. They had to get the dust off of them now. She grabbed Itachi around the waist and dived into the river. The heavy currents washed them downstream, pushing them under the water.

It was cold and she gripped Itachi tightly, holding on to dear life so that they wouldn't be parted. The current continued to force them under the surface, and when they broke the water, they both gasped for air, spitting out mouthfuls of water.

The raging water had forced them down the river, far from where their battle had taken place. Itachi managed to twist in Sakura's grip, reversing their position so that he was now holding her to his chest. He used chakra to propel him forward to the river bank, climbing up the bank with a shivering, sputtering Sakura in his arms.

Before anything else, she looked down, studying her skin. She nodded, relieved, seeing that the poisonous jutsu was gone from her skin. Taking a few deep breaths of air, she finally looked up at Itachi's nonplussed look. He was dripping wet, his clothes soggy, and his hair plastered to his face.

"And you shoved us into the river to...?" She pointed to her arm, pinching her skin to illustrate, as she coughed up another lungful of water. "The jutsu?"

"It was poisonous. I recognized the substance from something I had worked on before, some years back. It nearly killed the men who had been attacked. The only reason they were saved was because I happened to be near the area when they were sprayed by the jutsu. It was coincidence- I think it was right after the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, actually. When Team Seven was still searching for Sasuke," she elaborated. "Anyways, the men were practically rotting from the outside in. It was really scary to watch. Once I identified the substance in their skin, I was able to use a lot of water to sort of purify their body in a very painful process. It essentially made them drown multiple times and then vomit up all that water. It wasn't fun, but they had to wash the poison particles out of their body. That was the only way I could figure out how to cure it."

"So you can remember all the poisons you have seen before?" Sakura began to twist her soaked shirt, squeezing out the excess water.

"Pretty much. It may seem crazy, but look at it this way. You can remember nearly every jutsu you've seen with your Sharingan, right? You can remember every trajectory angle that you were taught in school on how to throw your kunai and shuriken, right? You can remember nearly every foe you ever fought, or every place you've ever been to, right? That seems pretty amazing to me. It's hard for me to remember what people I've fought, or who I've saved and healed, but I can easily remember wounds and techniques and poisons. Those are essential things to remember as a medical ninja. When you know that it can directly affect another life, it makes it easier to store such things like that to memory."

"That does make sense." Sakura watched curiously as Itachi made a few hand signs and then huffed indignantly when his jutsu dried his clothes in a whirl of warm wind. He smirked, straightening out his black top, obviously taunting her.

"Whatever," she told him, turning away. "I don't need your stupid jutsu!" She jumped into the trees, trying to fight away her shiver.

Within ten minutes, after poorly hidden uncontrollable shivering, Itachi stopped their movement, gripping Sakura's hand. She didn't resist when he hugged her close and used his clothes-drying jutsu on her.

The warm wind was a relief on her frigid skin, and with a pleasant sigh, she thanked him.

...Or she would have, had he not jumped away with her in his arms, rushing at blinding speeds through the forest. Sakura, when she finally gathered her thoughts, gripped his shirt tightly, and quietly asked him what was happening, knowing better than to screech at him. Itachi always did things like this for a reason.

"They found us. They are trying to surround us. We are traveling to a clearing," he began in short, concise statements. "Upon entering the clearing, I will throw you to the ground. Immediately, you are to split the earth into equal fissures that will throw them off track. Do not stop your attacks. I will aim from the trees and take the rogues out one by one. Do not give them the chance to do their jutsu again."

"Understood." It was two minutes later when Sakura found herself flying through the air, spiraling to the ground. She drew chakra to her fists and carefully felt for their pursuers. All lined up in a star-shaped pattern around her, each at the point of the star, while she stayed in the middle. It was a perfect set-up. She used both fists to punch the ground, satisfied when the ground crumbled and cracked into the same star-shaped pattern, exploding outwards.

She didn't stop her fists from pummeling the ground. One fist after the other hit the ground with an explosion of chakra, pulling up more and more rock that eventually turned the clearing into a rubble-filled, rugged mess.

Screams alerted her that Itachi had begun his phase of their plan. The nins couldn't hit her and they couldn't escape with him picking them off one-by-one. In essence, Sakura decided, their teamwork was flawless. They worked absolutely perfect together. She was short-ranged, while he was long-ranged. They complemented one-another. It wasn't just an all out attack, like in Team Seven. Itachi planned every move, every burst of chakra, every attack. Nothing was wasted effort from him.

Sakura stopped her attacks, sensing that all the men were dead. A few seconds later, after the dust was beginning to clear, Itachi joined Sakura in the center.

"They were the same nins from earlier. We have driven away all intruders. Shall we return home?" Sakura nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, please. I want a nice, long bath." Itachi made a small sound of agreement, making Sakura smile.

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><p>They had been gone much too long, Sakura decided when they reached the village's gates. After living in the dreary, rainy, muggy Rain Village, seeing Konoha's bright sun and clear skies were a stark contrast. It brought a bright smile to her face.<p>

"We report to Tsunade and then we get to go home, right?" Sakura chirped, her mood improved tenfold since entering the village. Itachi nodded, closing his eyes in his own quiet sign of relief.

"Let's hurry," he told her softly. "I want to go home." Hearing him call their house his home, and hearing him wish to return to said home, made Sakura's chest swell with some type of warmth. It felt nice to hear him express the same sentiment that she felt. After everything he had been through, with the order to kill his clan, with being dead, with working as a puppet for Kabuto, he still served Konoha loyally.

Yes, Sakura decided, looking over at her partner, her experiment had turned into a much greater success than she had ever imagined. Itachi was back at his home, the place where he truly belonged. He didn't need to be a martyr anymore; no, he deserved to be in Konoha, in peace, and to enjoy his life.

She smiled at that thought, in turn, smiling at him.

"Yeah, let's hurry and go home, partner." They were a team; they had been a team for quite sometime now. And Sakura couldn't see their partnership ending anytime soon, mission or no. They just worked _that_ well together.

Finally, they reached Tsunade's office. Shizune let them enter, and after a fifteen minute narrative where both shinobi retold their mission, both quietly waited for Tsunade's judgment.

"Well, the mission had several drawbacks, but all in all, good job." Tsunade's stern look mellowed out into a smile. She nodded at Itachi and Sakura. "Arata, Sakura, very good work. I made the right choice by sending you two. I've gotten a good report from the new kage of the the Rain Village. She said you two made Konoha look very, very good. They want to enter into an alliance with our village, so good job. You've opened the doors to a positive future with Rain. I'll be sure to send you two on more missions in the future." Both of the nins nodded. "Really, your teamwork was amazing."

Sakura grinned, nodding. Yes, she and Itachi really did have a great relationship together. Their teamwork _was_ amazing. And much like the Hidden Rain Village having a bright future ahead of them, Sakura knew she and Itachi had a similar future ahead of them. They were only at the beginning of their future. The mission had proved that there were places they hadn't gone, but it seemed like they would be entering soon enough. After all, they had become much closer than ever before.

What would become of their relationship... well, only time would tell. And Sakura knew she was okay with that. There was no rush, after all.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Eh, there isn't really anything to explain from this chapter. I suppose if I get into the nitty-gritty things, the reason why the new Rain leader wasn't killed in Takamiya's jutsu with the other rebel forces would be because there was a small faction planning on being back-ups elsewhere in the village. Other than that, I have nothing else to really say about this chapter.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>_

_A kunoichi was not always there just to fight, or heal, or look pretty. She has other talents that can be utilized. Sakura is still a kunoichi. And sometimes, her talents are needed in other fields besides healing. A ninja devotes every part of themselves to their village. And that includes their body- in more ways than one._

_ **Next Chapter: Kunoichi**_

Some missions are always painful...

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><p>Again, I apologize for such a long delay. I really hope that doesn't happen again. Next chapter is one of my favorite chapters, too, so I hope it is posted on schedule! :D Thanks for reading!<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: Kunoichi

Happy 2012 everyone! I feel like a beast for posting this on January 1st. For realz. Especially since this is one of my favorite chapters in this story.

Just as a cautionary warning, there is a bit of mature parts in this chapter. Just to remind you about the rating :) Well, thanks for reading!

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><p><span>Chapter Fourteen:<span>_ Kunoichi_

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><p>Sakura knew it was something bad when the ANBU knocked on her window right after she had returned from the hospital. There was no way that an emergency had come up <em>that<em> fast.

It was late, she was feeling miserable, she was cranky and tired, her day had been horrible with three separate crises in the hospital, and she couldn't deny how much she missed sleeping next to Itachi. Her bed never seemed as appealing since she had returned from her mission nearly two months ago. It was already late August, and much of her life had returned to normal. Itachi got a steady stream of missions; Sakura worked steady hours at the hospital. When she wasn't working, she was helping with Naruto and Hinata's upcoming wedding. Or she was sparring with Itachi, or hanging out with her friends, or helping Tsunade.

Whatever she was doing, Sakura knew it wasn't anything that was progressing her relationship with Itachi. When she had first returned to Konoha, she had told herself she was happy with waiting for Itachi and their relationship to develop.

Well, she had lied to herself. She didn't want to wait for their relationship to slowly progress; she wanted the fiery kisses, the close proximity of his body beside hers at night; even sharing the showers with him. With the end of the mission, Sakura felt like she had lost much of their romantic relationship that had begun to develop. It was depressing.

Even now, she still had trouble going to sleep. But there was no way she would ever confide that to him. He seemed fine with their relationship seemingly going in reverse, and if he was fine with it, then she would act fine with it, too.

Sighing, Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, unlocking her window. The ANBU slid inside, handing Sakura a scroll. She felt her insides freeze as she saw the scroll. The ANBU bowed his head, and slipped back out through the window without a word.

The scroll was different than most scrolls. This one was red. Her insides clenched painfully and Sakura nearly vomited. With a trembling hand, she unrolled the scroll. Her eyes blurred several times as she read the scroll, partially from suppressed tears.

She could count on one hand how many times she had received one of these missions. This was the third one in her entire life. Her first two missions had been successful, and Tsunade had told her that it was rare for someone to succeed on the first time; she went on to say that Sakura must be a _natural _at it. She didn't want to be a natural at it! She wanted to fail miserably, to crash and burn, and be so awful that Tsunade would never even think to send her on another one of these missions.

Sakura looked down at the scroll, seeing why she was chosen for the mission. Tsunade's careful handwriting explained that she was in need of someone to accomplish a mission like this without traces of murder. _Natural causes_ was written in the scroll. As a medical ninja, Sakura could easily pull off an assassination to make it look like the victim had died an accidental death.

If only it were that easy! She had never had a mission to _this _level before. And usually, Tsunade called her in to give her the details. But not this time- it was probably better this way, actually. Tsunade understood how painful these missions were to get. She probably didn't want to see her apprentice break down in front of her.

_Leave as soon as possible. Must return in a week._

Sakura took a deep breath. She let a few tears escape, not bothering to wipe them off her cheeks. Reaching into her nightstand, she withdrew a soldier pill and popped it into her mouth. It was better to leave in the dead of night when she wouldn't have to tell anyone (_Itachi and Naruto, specifically) _where she was going. This was the type of mission to never speak about.

Sakura threw what clothes she needed into a bag, then tossed her make-up and accessories into the bag, and a small medical pack as a last minute addition. She untied her forehead protector, placing it in her nightstand, and got out a piece of paper to write a quick note to Itachi.

_Got an emergency mission last night. You were already asleep; didn't want to wake you. I'll see you in a few days. _

_-Sakura_

She couldn't write anymore because her hand was trembling so fiercely. Sakura took one deep, calming breath, and then opened up her window and dashed out into the night. The faster she got this mission over with... Well, even after it was over, she would still feel the effects.

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><p>It was odd, Itachi finally deduced. Out of the ordinary. Perplexing, atypical, unusual, peculiar, different, weird-<em> strange.<em> Sakura, as long as he had known her, was a creature of habit. She didn't go out of her way to do something different. She got up every morning at 5:00, took a shower, drank a cup of coffee, ate some breakfast, brushed her hair, and then spent time with him (usually talking), walked Heiwa, and then they would go and spar some at the training grounds. At 8:00, she would rush home to wash up and change into her medical outfit. At 9:00, she would be at the hospital, working from nine to five on a good day (most days, though, were not good days, and she usually worked from nine o'clock to about nine or ten at night). Then she returned home, showered (or he helped wash her off) and went to bed. It repeated usually every single day.

If he had a mission, they agreed that he would always stop in and tell her goodbye, even if it was the middle of the night. If she had a medical emergency or mission, she too, would stop in and tell him, even if it woke him up. They had agreed to _always_ tell each other before they left. It kept the other from worrying. It had been a safety precaution of sorts.

Sakura never deviated from that pattern. She was, like he had deduced, a creature of habit. She was always careful to follow her own rules; always looking out for him before herself. In essence, she would never do something like this.

Itachi clenched his hand, feeling a strange surge of anger course through his veins. He was angry at Sakura for not telling him she had left. She _knew better _than to just up and leave with only a note.

No, that wasn't right. He shouldn't be angry. He should be worried. Why had she left with only a note? Was she upset at the mission? And why was her hand trembling so badly at the end of the letter? He could tell from the way her letters quivered at the end of her note that her hand was shaking. Sakura had precise handwriting; this was nervous handwriting- it was too sloppy to be normal.

And, he had noticed that she had taken her make-up with her on her mission. Not only that, but she had taken very few medical items, and less than the usual amount of shinobi clothing. There was something wrong with that. She _never _took make-up on a mission, and she always packed _extra_ medical supplies than what was usually needed, and she was always practical in her clothing.

It was almost like she wasn't trying to look like a shinobi. That wasn't too out of the ordinary- maybe she was undercover. But, still, that made him wonder why she wouldn't tell him. And why was she so distraught about it?

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. He could go ask Tsunade what had happened to Sakura, but he knew that she would not tell him. Missions were classified and whatever Sakura's mission was, it must have been rather high-ranked if she would not tell him that she was leaving. He would just have to wait for her to return. He knew she was in good health- thanks to their bond, he could easily feel her regular chakra patterns.

He supposed he could transport to her if he felt the need to. They had agreed not to remove the seal he had placed on her from their last mission, figuring it had come in handy. In exchange, Sakura even placed the same seal on him, so if he were in trouble, she could transport him to her side, much like he could transport her to his side. But they were only to use the seals if they were in absolute peril and had activated it so that the other person could transport them.

Sakura had yet to activate hers, so he had to trust that she was in good health.

Itachi sighed again, running a hand through his hair. It was unlike him to worry so much, but something about Sakura's actions disturbed him greatly. The best thing to do, he finally decided, was to go train and release his nervous energy. Maybe if he was lucky, Naruto or Neji would be willing to spar with him. He needed a challenge to beat into the ground. It always made him feel better.

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><p>She gave him a coy smile, the black kohl accentuating her jade eyes. She slowly ran her fingers through her black hair, tucking a loose lock behind her ear. Every movement was exaggerated, even when she lowered her eyes, looking up at him through her long (<em>fake<em>) eyelashes.

It didn't take long for the man to respond to her womanly charms. He strode over to her, lowering his voice to ask if the seat next to her was taken. She raised her eyebrows, her glossy lips curving into a smirk.

"No, it seems to be painfully empty tonight. Unless, that is, you would like to have my company this evening." Her tone was deep and sultry; there was no doubt that she was trying to pique his interest. As if it were an unconscious movement, she dragged her cherry-colored manicured fingernails across her lips, letting her hand rest against her cheek. It garnered the correct attention, as the man's eyes flickered to her lips and stayed there for a few seconds.

"I would be delighted to, Miss." She smiled, looking down at the spotless counter. Her other hand clenched around her drink, a beautiful hot-pink cocktail _(a Cosmopolitan_), and she carefully brought the dainty glass to her lips. Through her lashes, she watched the man swallow hard and follow her every move with his eyes.

"So, what brings you to this area? I've never seen you around here before," his voice was low and seductive, making her mouth quirk upwards. She took a few seconds to respond, keeping her eyes on her drink, which she was gently twirling around, making the liquid spin in slow circles.

"Business," she replied, her voice equally as low. "Though, I have finished my ordeals and will be returning home soon."

"Ah, I see." Her mouth twitched as she gently sat the glass down. She turned her head towards him, giving him a soft smile.

"So I figured I could spend the rest of my vacation as a _pleasure_ getaway." He swallowed hard, but regained his composure, letting his eyes roam over her body.

"It seems like you would have no trouble in finding anyone to help you have a _fun time_." His blue eyes focused on her chest, to which she only grinned, leaning back, thus making her chest pop out a little more. Swinging her body to face him, she crossed her legs, letting her feet rest against the legs of the stool.

"What about you?" she asked, letting her hand rest on her lower _(bare)_ thigh. His eyes were drawn to it, looking over her creamy skin. "What brings you here?" The man sighed, reaching for his own glass, a beverage that looked to be a mixture soda and vodka. He took a drink, running his hands through his blonde hair.

"Just trying to relax after a long week. It's been hell at the office." She nodded sympathetically, taking a sip of her drink.

"What do you do? I'm the executive accountant over my offices- so they send me out everywhere."

"I'm the executive president of the Zagodine Company." She nodded in recognition of the company's name. "We tend to transport a lot of merchandise to other villages."

"Ah, yes. I've heard of you before. Aren't you involved in dealings with the Hidden Villages? The shinobi villages, I mean?" He nodded, bracing his face on his hand.

"They are impossible to deal with. You never know when one is trying to stab you in the back for a raw deal. It's a dangerous job. And their politics aren't like normal people's! They are always squabbling amongst themselves, constantly reforming treaties and making enemies. It's hard to remain neutral. One wrong move and they find out I'm dealing to their enemies, I'm an enemy." She gently touched his hand, offering him a sympathetic smile.

"All those villages are just savage. They breed children for death and murder. I feel bad that you have to deal with them on a daily basis." He closed his eyes, letting his own hand rest on hers.

"It is stressful," he agreed. Opening his eyes, he took a large drink of his beverage, sighing after he put the glass down. "Well, Miss, what do you have planned after this?" She shook her head.

"Please, call me Hana. And nothing, really. I suppose I'll head back to my hotel soon enough and spend the rest of the night alone," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Though, I must say, it is getting rather late and it is dark. Maybe I should get going before it becomes too dangerous out. You know how fretful girls are of walking alone at night." He nodded, contemplating her words. She had given him an opening and she was sure he would take it.

"I could always walk you back to your hotel room." She smiled, nodding.

"That would be lovely." She finished off her drink, calling the bartender over for another refill. "Have you ever met these shinobi?" she asked, returning to their previous conversation topic, as she lowered the refilled glass from her lips. He nodded.

"A few times. I can never meet with the leaders of the villages; they're too important for that, I suppose. They send their lackeys to do all the work. The nins are usually cold and unfriendly. They hand me a scroll, expect me to sign it and give them what they want, and then leave. It's never pleasant."

"They are awful creatures," she agreed. Gently, she let her fingers touch his face, to which he smirked. "I'd hate to see them mar a face like yours." He was an attractive man, there was no doubt of that. He seemed to know it too, and let a self-satisfied smirk line his face.

"You know," he began, letting his eyes flicker around the room, "I think it's getting a bit crowded in here. How about if we go back to my place so we can get to know each other better?" She nodded, letting her smile do the talking for her.

* * *

><p>It was nearing a week since Sakura had left. Itachi had been on three missions during that time, had returned home, and still had no word from Sakura. Naruto, Sai, Ino, and even Hinata had asked him about Sakura. They all found the situation as odd as he did, and Naruto even tried to pry it out of Tsunade. But like Itachi had figured, the woman was tight-lipped, and only said Sakura was on a mission and would return within a week. Naruto had even tried to find out what mission Sakura had been assigned behind Tsunade's back, but the woman had expected that and had hidden Sakura's information away from the Hokage-in-training.<p>

He sighed, feeling like the house was strangely empty without his pink-haired companion in it. He knew he had developed protective feelings for the woman; their previous mission had confirmed how special she was to him. Itachi knew there was something about her that had changed him- or maybe it was something about her that had healed him.

Not just in a physical sense, but in a mental one, as well. She gave him the chance to live his life the way he wanted to. Maybe that was why he liked her so much. She had done more for him than anyone else had his entire life. That was why he was drawn to her. He had been a broken person. She was a healer. She healed him and he wasn't going to be able to let her go even though he was nearly healed. He _couldn_'_t_ let her go.

Certainly, their relationship had seemed to have taken a few steps backwards since returning, but he was honestly afraid of pushing them any farther. He _wanted_ something more, and he had a suspicion that she did too, but he wasn't sure what would happen after that. These were territories unknown to him, and he needed time to carefully plan his moves. He was a methodical person and Sakura would merely have to wait for him to be ready to move their relationship forward.

Granted, with this painful one-week absence, he was seriously considering developing a _real_ relationship with her just so she would never do this to him again. The worry that something was wrong was gnawing him inside and out. He couldn't focus on his missions, on his fighting, anything. It was always there, in the back of his mind, that nagging question of _what_ was wrong with this mission; why had it upset her so much before-hand?

He had not felt very many inflections of her chakra. She obviously wasn't fighting someone, or healing someone intensely. So why was she needed on a mission? There were a plethora of kunoichi to do seduction missions, and it didn't make sense to send out the top medical ninja in the village on a mission like that- Tsunade wouldn't send her own apprentice on a seduction mission, he assumed. Sakura was too valuable for such a commonplace mission. So, if it wasn't a fighting, healing, or seduction mission, what type of mission was she on? Spying? Undercover? He had no idea.

Itachi closed his eyes. He hated this worrying; not that he wasn't used to worrying- he used to worry endlessly about Konoha, Sasuke, Sasuke's future, the Clan's future, Sasuke, and more Sasuke. Sasuke was always at the forefront of his mind before he died.

He was not used to worrying about a woman, especially one he had no technical relationship with. Even as a teenager, when he had a girlfriend (the woman he was arranged to marry, more like) he had never worried about her. He felt bad that he had to kill her, of course, but nothing more than for anyone else that he murdered in his clan.

Sakura was different, though. He hated to worry about her, but yet, he wanted to worry about her. He didn't like not knowing what was happening to her; he didn't like when she was away; he didn't like it when she was distraught. Itachi had feelings for her, there was no doubt about it.

And he didn't care, either. He just wanted her home safely and in a healthy state. But something told him he wouldn't find her that way when she returned. He could only hope his gut feeling was wrong.

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><p>She arched, moaned, and raked her nails down his bare back. There were a few more grunts, passionate moans, and sweat.<p>

Bodies melted together, and she didn't like it. She hated how he was breathing so fast, his chest pressing into hers. It was too dark to see, but she felt like she could see his every muscle tense with pleasure and the hazy glint of lust overwhelming his eyes.

He was lowering his body over hers. She couldn't do it. She couldn't do it. She couldn't... He was too close and everything was too fast. She had to do it. She had to do it. She had to do it! His hands were stroking her; she closed her eyes wishing him away. He nipped at her neck; she moaned, clutching at his shoulders while her legs entangled with his. She _had _to do this!

He was sweaty, and she didn't like it, and the scents and... and... She was supposed to do this. But he was too close and... too close... too dark, the sweat, the scents, the lust. His tongue trailed down her chest, his mouth stopping to suck and play with her breasts. Her back arched into his, while she let out a loud moan. Her chest felt like it was on fire- and not the good, pleasurable kind. She wanted to scream and cry. This wasn't what she wanted!

He moaned, and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't fail. She had to do this...! But there was... she couldn't... How could this happen... too close, he was too close. He pressed closer and closer. His wandering hands were pressing in places she didn't want them to touch. He was so close to her. So, so close. Her thighs clenched around his hips, while he grunted and groaned. His body was so sweaty- she hated this sweat. She hated all of this. She got a glance of his hazy green eyes. The lust scared her. She wasn't prepared for this. Why was he so close to her? She wasn't even sure what was her body and what was his anymore. He was too close to her. She closed her eyes again, grinding against him. Waves of nausea passed through her body. She had to do this!

The sweat, the moans, and breathing, the panting. She couldn't arch any further, she couldn't keep this up. She wanted to cry and scream and she couldn't do this...! But she had to, but she couldn't, but she needed to, but she couldn't and the sweat and the bodies and the proximity and... and...

He was closer and closer and then... then... Sakura screamed out, which he took for ecstasy. The panting, the grunting, the sweat, the lust. Thrust, thrust, thrust. She was going to be sick. She couldn't do this. She couldn't do this. She clenched her thighs tighter around him, her eyes clenched shut. It didn't matter if she couldn't do this. She _had _to do this. She _had _to. _Had_ to!

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><p>It was late at night when the door opened; nearly two o'clock in the morning. His eyes were opened within a second, and he felt out for the chakra signature. It was Sakura's, he was sure. He flared his chakra, expecting her to flare her signature back. After all, that was their agreed signal when either came into the house.<p>

But instead of the sharp, concise spike like usual, there was nothing. Instead, her chakra pattern was irregular- she was distressed.

The feelings he had been having all week were correct. Something was wrong with Sakura. Itachi waited, listening to her; he heard the door to shut, a few louder than usual steps across the wooden floors, and then a few choking, crying sounds from her. Was she sobbing?

Itachi didn't bother listening anymore, instead exiting his room to find her. She was in the living room, hiccuping and sobbing, gasping for air. She was sitting motionless on the couch, her hands wrapped around her body.

It was odd seeing her so vulnerable. Her hair was faded from pink to black, splotches of black dye still in some places in her hair. Black streaks of make-up made watery trails down her cheeks; all her make-up was smeared and rubbed around her eyes. Her hair was mussed, and her outfit was in disarray.

The outfit she was wearing made his eyes widen. It was a short black skirt, barely to mid-thigh. Her top was a low-cut, tight-fitting, jade halter top. Even her shoes, shiny black stiletto pumps, were out of character for her. But it surely made her look gorgeous. He could only imagine what she had looked like when she was more put-together.

"Sakura?" Sakura's head snapped up, her tears not stopping.

"No, no, don't come near me. I... I... Oh, Itachi, I..." He could hardly make out her sentence with how hard she was crying. The woman was breaking down in front of him, more than he had ever seen her before. She seemed nearly hysterical.

"I need a shower!" Sakura lurched up, kicked off her shoes, and ran up the stairs. Itachi was rather bewildered, and slowly followed her up. Her clothes were strewn across the hallway; she had obviously stripped on her way to the bathroom.

He could hear her sobs over the shower. What had happened? He knocked on the door, and heard a pained moan from inside the shower.

"Sakura?" He knocked again, his worry increasing as he heard her continue to cry and mutter something. Drawing a bit of chakra to his ears, he picked up what she was saying over and over again.

_"It won't come off. It won't come off! Why can't I get it off?" _And then he could hear feverish scrubbing. Itachi had an ominous feeling in his stomach. Sakura was scrubbing herself raw, he was sure.

He couldn't leave her alone. Obviously, she was in a fragile state. He wasn't sure what to do with her. Flashes from his past, when he was in a similar state, blurred past his eyes. At that moment, when he felt like he was cracking and going insane, all he had wanted was someone there with him. Someone comforting. Granted, he never got that, but he could offer his support to Sakura.

She let out a wail, and her scrubbing increased tenfold.

"Sakura!" Itachi twisted the knob, entering the bathroom. Steam wafted around him; it almost felt like she had turned on only hot water, and no cold. He opened the glass door and found her taking a scrub brush to her skin, nearly taking her skin off. Her skin was bright red from the intense scrubbing and heat.

She looked at him, pools of black from her make-up and hair dye surrounding her feet. "I can't get it off, Itachi. I can't..." Her legs and arms trembled, while tears streamed down her cheeks. He could see nothing on her skin, but had figured that whatever she was trying to scrub off was not something tangible as it was a feeling. The night he had killed his own clan, the first chance he got, he scrubbed himself raw trying to get imaginary blood off.

"Sakura, you must stop scrubbing," he told her, gripping her hand that held the scrub brush. Her eyes widened and she shoved him away from her.

"_Don't touch me!_" She screamed at him shrilly. Her panicked green eyes looked wildly around, as if planning for an escape. While a part of him was hurt that she would react so strongly to him, his rational side told him it was the consequence of whatever she had been through.

"Sakura," he began softly, prying the brush from her hands, and then withdrawing his hand from hers, "please calm down for a few seconds." Sakura finally seemed to focus on him, though she did not stop trembling or crying.

He tried to remember what he had wanted someone to say to him after he had killed his family. What had calmed him down? He certainly hadn't wanted to talk about what he had just done, but he didn't want to avoid the conversation, either. He had wanted a distraction.

"Can you tell me what steps I need to take to heal a broken arm? You see, Naruto and I were sparring a little too roughly, and I'd like to become proficient enough to heal him after I beat him soundly." She took a deep, gasping breath, trying to form an answer.

"First, you begin with eq-equal amounts of chakra in bo-both hands..." Sakura hiccuped a few times, but the fact that she was allowing herself to be distracted was a plus for both of them. Itachi gave her a few minutes to list her steps about medical techniques, something he knew always calmed her down, and then finally picked up a wash cloth. Slowly, he put soap on it, gently washing her arms and shoulders.

She stiffened instantly, looking at him with wide eyes. He stilled his rag, waiting for her consent. After a few moments, she allowed him to finish washing her. He only washed her arms, shoulders, back, and face.

She continued to distract herself with rambling about medical jutsus, while he turned off the water and handed her a large towel to dry off with. She wrapped it around her tightly, finally stepping out of the shower.

And then she promptly collapsed into his arms. Itachi held her, walking her out of the bathroom and into her bedroom.

"No, no, I don't want to go in there, Itachi." The tears started again and Sakura clung to him, burying her head in his chest. He gently wrapped his arms around her, nodding his head. He knew everyone reacted differently to traumas, and it seemed like Sakura was one that didn't want to be left alone.

He led her down the stairs, finally settling her on the couch. To console her, he went and made her favorite drink- hot chocolate- and returned with two mugs of the concoction a few minutes later. Sakura took the mug, and after two sips, her tears returned.

"I always do this after these missions," she finally told him, wiping away her tears, though it was in vain as more appeared in their place. "No one ever sees me break down like this, but it happens every time after I return." She placed her cup down, letting her head fall onto her hands.

"What was your mission, Sakura?" Itachi asked, though he had begun to have a vague idea of what type of mission she had been placed on. She hiccuped, her shoulders shuddering.

"Seduction and assassination," she whispered. He nodded, understanding. "I was supposed to have sex with him," she told Itachi, finally raising her head. "I-I was supposed... he... the sweat, and the lust in his eyes... I was so scared... But the scroll specifically said that I was supposed to have intercourse with him... but he..." Itachi had never expected to hear the confident, independent woman admit her fears and weaknesses. She was so vulnerable. The Sakura he knew never showed such a vulnerable, weak side to her.

"Sakura, what happened?" Sakura's lip quivered and she covered her eyes with her hands, taking ragged breaths as she began to sob again. Itachi waited for her to regain some composure.

"Th-the night of my mission, Tsunade... she... she sent a-a scarlet scroll to-to me... b-by ANBU. Scarlet scrolls are always seduction missions. The tar-target was a... a... he was in the weapons and information business, supplying information to the Hidden Villages but that was just a cover-up for a secret ring he was in underneath the scenes that we had gotten word of. He was participating in some sort of secret jutsu trade that involved forbidden jutsus and illegal techniques and I don't really know what else except that I was supposed to kill him," Sakura was spilling out everything she could think of, not even bothering to breathe.

"What was your mission, exactly? Why was the seduction needed? Why you?" Sakura shook her head, wiping her tears. A few chills ran down her back. Itachi, not wanting to touch her because it might upset her, grabbed a blanket folded over the back of the couch. He took it and wrapped it around her shoulders, careful not to touch her. She nodded her thanks at him.

"Because he ha-had to be killed naturally. Tsunade-sama thought I was the best qualified. H-he... the man, he had do-documents in his h-home. I-I had to get him vul-vulnerable enough to use a-a special jutsu that unlocks hi-his mind, more or less. The only way th-the jutsu would work is to... to get him so distracted a-and vulnerable that... that he doesn't even real-realize what I'm doing. The only... only way was se-... sex." Sakura looked down, twisting the blanket in her hands. Itachi let her stay silent, willing to wait until she was comfortable talking about her experience again.

"We met at a bar," Sakura began, her voice rather calm compared to before. However, he noticed it had a hollow tone to it that was unlike her normal sweet quality. "I played my part perfectly, and within thirty minutes, he was inviting me back to his place. I was able to pry out much of the information I wanted before we even did anything. Within an hour, though, he was kissing me. It led to foreplay and heavy kissing. He was stripping me, and I couldn't tell him to stop because it was my duty to let him have his way with me. He was running his hands all over my bare body. His fingers were sliding into places they shouldn't be, and I couldn't tell him to stop." Sakura clenched her eyes shut, obviously remembering everything vividly.

Her eyes opened, though there was a far-off, distant quality to them, as if she were reliving the event again and again. "I had to moan and thrust back to his fingers, and then his hands were all over my breasts, squeezing and nipping, and his mouth was pressed all over my body, his tongue sliding over my skin. I had to moan and grip his hair and fight away my tears, because it was disgusting and I didn't love him and I didn't even _know_ him. He was in the throes of his passion, and he was straddling my waist, and he was kissing my neck, and I could feel him getting ready to insert himself into me, and I panicked. I couldn't let him. This was my first mission where sex was a requirement, and I have never had sex on a mission before, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't want him to do this to me, and there was so much sweat and the lust... it was hot and sticky and he didn't even _care_." Sakura shuddered.

"He was inside me for a few seconds, and then I couldn't do it anymore. My facade broke and the tears finally slipped through. I had to turn my face and act like I was moaning, but I couldn't stand it. I couldn't wait anymore and activated the jutsu. I didn't get as much information as I was supposed to because he was able to overcome the jutsu rather quickly. I had to kill him as soon as he did because he realized what and who I was. I searched his place for any extra information, but all in all, I didn't get nearly as much as I was supposed to and the mission is more or less considered a failure."

"Have you reported to Tsunade-sama?" Sakura shook her head, wiping away some tears.

"I couldn't do it. She can wait until tomorrow." She took a shaky breath, finally crying again. Sakura covered her face, pulling her knees up to her chin and burying her face in her lap. Itachi let her cry for a few minutes, before finally placing an arm around her shoulders. He didn't want to ask this, but he knew he had to.

"Sakura, were you a virgin?" Sakura shook her head, her muffled "no" still ringing clear in his ears. She sniffed and lifted her head to elaborate.

"Sai took my virginity when I was seventeen. It wasn't because we wanted to, but because I _had_ to give my virginity to someone. Kunoichis are required to lose their virginity before their first seduction mission, which can be distributed by the age of eighteen. Tsunade had told me I was going to be sent on one shortly after I turned eighteen so I needed to lose my virginity soon. I chose Sai to take it because we were good enough friends and his lack of emotions would allow him to view the act impassively. When I told him why I had to lose my virginity, he obliged and that weekend, we did it." Sakura looked away, twisting the blanket again.

"It wasn't enjoyable, really. It felt like something we were forced to do- like a homework assignment, or something. It turns out he wasn't a virgin; I guess Root members were forced to lose their virginity as soon as they hit puberty. He already had his share of seduction missions and had had sex multiple times before. To him, it was just another act and another mission. To be honest, I doubt he remembers we ever did it together. To me, it just felt numb- like it didn't really matter. I didn't feel different afterward, and we agreed to never speak of it again. That was the first and last time, though, that I had sex. At least... until tonight." Her hand trembled, and she shook her head, as if wiping out the memories. Tears gathered and gently fell down her face.

"I'm a romantic at heart. I always believed sex should be done with someone I love. I always dreamed of losing my virginity on my wedding night or something cliché like that. I still dream of devoting myself solely to my significant other, if I ever get one. But... nights like these..." She ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head. "I almost want to use sex to forget about sex, if that makes sense. I want something pleasurable to forget the disgusting feelings... but at the same time, I don't want to ever think about sex again."

"It gets easier," Itachi remarked, leaning back on the couch. "I used to be the same way after my seduction missions." She looked at him in disbelief. "I never had any in Konoha, but as the, more or less, most attractive man in the Akatsuki, I was the perfect candidate for any type of seduction mission. Konan and I usually ended up with those missions. Kisame, Zetsu, and Kakuzu couldn't do it for obvious physical reasons; Sasori was a puppet so he didn't exactly have working anatomy; Hidan couldn't be covert enough, even if he had the physical looks for it; and Deidara had the problem with his hands having mouths on him, thus making him unable to do any missions without being caught. That only left Pain and I, and even though Pain was easily capable enough to do the missions, it was easier to send me to do them. He didn't like sending Konan, but as the only female, she had to do the dirty work most times, too."

"When was your first time?" Sakura asked mildly. Itachi sighed, mentally counting back.

"I was about fifteen when Pain decided to send me on a seduction mission. It wasn't pleasant, but I succeeded in my mission. I don't know how many I've had since then- too many of them. While I never cried or became deeply upset at the act, it did bother me to the extent that I have never had sex willingly or for pleasure purposes. It is easier to consider sex on missions as nothing more than a tool to be used to complete the mission. It is just another way to use your body for success; much like throwing a punch or using a jutsu."

"I could... I could use that philosophy," Sakura told him softly. "It might make it easier." He nodded, offering her a gentle smile. "I'm sure this isn't going to be the last mission I'm sent on, after all. But... Itachi... I..." She was clearly hesitating on telling him something. "I don't want to go there again and feel so... inexperienced, I suppose. I just..." She clenched her fist, shaking her head.

"When I don't know how to do something, I learn it. When I'm not comfortable with my skills, I train and get stronger. I'm not comfortable with my skills, but I don't know exactly how to practice them." Itachi fidgeted, uncomfortable by Sakura's implication.

"Sakura, I understand what you're asking, but... I'm not going to allow our relationship to take a step like that without it meaning something to both of us. Call me old fashioned if you must, but due to how I was raised, I do not believe in having sex willingly with someone I am only friends with."

"How were you raised?" Sakura asked, drawing the blanket closer around her bare shoulders.

"Being clan heir, I was not allowed to have sex outside of marriage. Something about purity of the clan and so that there would be no bastard children to the main line. While most ANBU members are sent on seduction missions, I was forbidden to. Shisui, my best friend, had his first mission by age thirteen. Granted, by age thirteen, I was involved in some nasty clan politics and the such, so I never even had time to think about sex or girls."

"Did you have a girlfriend?" Itachi frowned, giving her a half-shrug.

"Yes, though not really of choice. The heir is arranged to marry the strongest Uchiha kunoichi by age twelve. So yes, I did have a girlfriend, or fianceé, but I did not know her very well. We spent some time together, but I spent most of my free time with Sasuke, Shisui, or alone. Only when my mother forced me to, would I spend time with her."

"What was her name?" Sakura asked him softly. Itachi sighed, closing his eyes to remember. At first Sakura found it strange that he wouldn't remember the name of the woman he was engaged to marry, but she realized it had been over ten years (it had actually been about fourteen years) since her death. _By his hands_, she added as an afterthought. _No wonder he would want to forget her. _

"It was Mayumi." Sakura nodded. "She was a skilled ninjutsu user and had activated her Sharingan by age ten. Other than that, though, she was a basic kunoichi." Itachi glanced at Sakura, a smirk growing on his face. "You could have beaten her easily." She rolled her eyes.

"That's not fair; I'm one of the strongest kunoichi in the village." She had never said that out-loud before. Certainly, she had thought it, but Sakura had never voiced her opinion on that, thinking she was too conceited. Itachi nodded, keeping his smirk. He noticed she had stopped crying, and some her typical warmth had returned to her eyes.

"Yes, yes you are." His agreement made her chest warm. "And I believe we will only grow stronger from here." His use of the word 'we' made her grin.

"We will," she assented. "You know, I should probably go change, huh? I'm getting cold in this towel." They had both forgotten Sakura's indecent state. She stood up, keeping the blanket around her.

"Itachi... thank you for everything tonight. I don't think I would have made it out emotionally stable without you. I just... Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." He nodded, returning her smile.

"Anytime, Sakura."

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><p><em>Hands roved her body, touching and feeling. Moans and gasps sounded in her ears, as sweat and lust filled her nostrils. Alcohol and a tangy saliva was what she tasted when lips were pressed against her. Her eyes closed, wanting to be blind from the straining muscles and eyes of un-repressed desire. <em>

_There was thrusting, again and again. Someone was inside her. They were making a rhythm and grunting in tune with it. She knew it was the man from the mission. It had to be. _

_She opened her eyes, expecting to see green eyes. _

_Bright red Sharingan met her jade eyes. _

_"Itachi?" No, Itachi never looked at her that way. His eyes were blue now, and even when she saw his Sharingan, it never looked at her that way. No, his eyes were gentle; not filled with anger-filled lust. _

_"Sasuke?" No, it wasn't Sasuke, either. Sasuke didn't have the Sharingan anymore; she had disabled it. And even when he was insane, he was never like this. He was angry, certainly, and often a violent person. But not even Sasuke would rape her. He would kill her, with no hesitation, but he wouldn't rape her- she was sure of that. _

_That only left..._

_"Madara?" The shadowy form materialized into the masked man. She felt her breath hitch and she began to struggle. _

_"No, no, get off, you're dead!" The thrusting didn't stop and his evil cackle filled her ears. She writhed, shoving at his chest. His ruby eyes glittered in the night, sparkling with mirth and delight at her struggles. Slowly, one of his eyes swirled into its gray Rinnegan form. _

_"Stop! Stop! Get off! Naruto killed you!" She couldn't get him to disengage from her body. Madara lowered his mouth to her neck, biting her sharply. She screamed, forcing chakra into her arms. Nothing came, and she was left weakly pushing against him. _

_"Sweet, little blossom." Her eyes widened and before her, she saw not only Madara, but Kabuto, Takamiya, Sasori, Orochimaru, and Sasuke. They were the villains of her past, the ones she feared the most. _

_All of them approached her, and she knew she was done for. _

_"Stop! Stop! Don't touch me! STOP!" _

"Stop!" Sakura sprang from her bed. Her eyes darted around panicked, and she curled up into a ball on her bed. She couldn't do this. She had only been asleep for two hours. Her body was trembling, and she felt like she was going to vomit.

Scratch that, she _was_ going to vomit. Sakura lurched up and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. She spewed what little was in her stomach (after all, it wasn't the first time she had vomited tonight; she had puked at least six times before arriving home).

Sakura took a deep breath, slumping against the toilet. Normally, this would be the time she would creep across rooftops to visit Naruto so that she could crawl in his window and have his protective arms hold her all night long in a big-brotherly hug.

But not tonight. Sakura looked up, forcing herself to stand. She rinsed her mouth out, ran a towel over her face, and leaned against the wall debating if she should do what she wanted.

Itachi had comforted her already tonight. Itachi had been there for her since the beginning of their friendship- how many nights had he carried her upstairs to wash her off after she had worked a long shift at the hospital? What about on their own mission? He had slept with her every night, keeping her securely in his grip. He had bathed with her. What about tonight? He was the one to calm her down, to wash her off, to stay with her in her weakest moment.

She knew he would do this. She knew he would stay with her if she asked him to; still, even as she padded to his door, she was nervous. What if he was reluctant? What if he told her no? What if he was angry she woke him up?

Sakura hesitated outside his door, her hand on the knob. Gently, she leaned her head against his door, wondering what she should do. She wasn't a child; she didn't need to go in there. She could always go back to bed.

_Madara..._

The thought of the dead villain stopped her. Her heartbeat spiked. She didn't want to be alone tonight; that was all there was to it.

Gently, she turned the knob, easing open his door soundlessly. She stopped mid-step when she saw him already sitting up, his blue eyes gazing at her curiously.

"I-..." Sakura couldn't say anything else, and took a step backwards. Itachi gave her a small smile, shaking his head. He pulled down his blanket, wordlessly offering his bed to her. She smiled and rushed over, throwing herself into his arms, forcing down her tears.

He wrapped his arms around her, letting Sakura lean against his chest.

"Thank you, Itachi, thank you." She clenched his loose top, taking a deep breath of his purely masculine scent. It was something akin to fresh rainwater and spicy mint. It was extremely pleasant and comforting.

"What did you dream of?"

"Madara," she whispered. "And then Takamiya, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sasori, and Sasuke... all of them were..." He tightened his grip around her, nodding.

"Nothing will happen now," he told her, gently laying down. Sakura laid with him, nuzzling into his chest. He kept his arms around her, and as Sakura felt herself drift to sleep, she decided that she could find no one else as comforting as Itachi.

"I know," she whispered to his previous statement. "Nothing bad will happen when I'm with you. Thank you, Itachi..." His fingers stroked her hair, and she felt him press a gentle kiss to her temple.

"Anytime, Sakura. Anytime. I'm always here for you." And she knew, without a doubt, that he would always be behind her no matter what would happen. She smiled softly, closing her eyes. For the first time since receiving her mission, she felt happy.

_I'm always here for you, too, Itachi. Thank you._

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I seriously do love this chapter. I enjoyed writing this so much. There are a few things I want to explain, though :D<p>

1. Sakura's mission lasts approximately six days. Itachi mentions he has three missions during that time- his missions were shorter day-long missions. Sakura was back before her week deadline.

2. Sakura's breakdown: I tried my best to make it clear that this was the first time Sakura had actual sex with a random stranger on these missions. Her first two missions, she didn't have to have full on intercourse. She probably had do something like oral or letting a guy feel her up, but nothing extreme. I also tried my best to make it clear that she always cries and has an emotional breakdown after these missions. But, instead of Itachi comforting her, she would go to Naruto after she calmed down enough. Also, with one other note, Itachi's strategy of distracting her with making her recite her medical jutsu steps- I dunno what other people do as a calming exercise, but when I'm really upset, I recite scientific facts (like the parts of DNA, or physics theorems) or I do math problems. I figure Sakura would do something similar because she's pretty nerdy and her medical jutsu tends to make her happy.

3. Finally, Sakura's dream. I know Sakura says in her dream that Sasuke would never rape her, but at the end of the dream, it is implied that Sasuke is going to rape her with her other villains. I don't think the real Sasuke would ever rape Sakura, however, the villains in Sakura's dream were playing to her weaknesses and her biggest fears. They weren't necessarily acting in character.

I think that's everything. :)

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

_Naruto has always dreamed of having Team Seven reunited. With his wedding steadily approaching, Sakura decides to give him the best wedding gift she can think of- his best friend. There is only one thing to do. Bonds will be reformed and a truth given. But Naruto is always worth it. _

_**Next Chapter: Bonds  
><strong>  
><em>The chapter everyone has been waiting for...!__

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><p><em><strong><strong>_Next chapter is one of my favorites, too. Actually, I feel like from this chapter on, this story really picks up :D I'm excited.

Well, Happy New Years, everybody! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

2012, baby~


	15. Chapter 15: Bonds

This chapter is a day late; woopsie! Well, please read and review! :D

On another note, is anyone else amused at the fact that Kishimoto named the Four Tails- the giant monkey- Son Goku? I find that freaking hilarious. Total DBZ shout-out. It makes me giggle. 

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><p><span>Chapter Fifteen:<span>_ Bonds_

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><p>"Can you believe it? Three days away!" Ino grinned, tugging on her bridesmaid gown. Tenten nodded, slipping on her shoes.<p>

"You look gorgeous, Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed, watching as the woman twirled around in her wedding dress.

"If only we looked half as pretty as you," Ino complained, frowning at the gaudy orange bridesmaid gown. "Orange? Really? The things you do for your husband." Sakura laughed, looking at her own yellow dress. The wedding colors were yellow and orange. All the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to wear orange. As the maid of honor, Sakura was allowed to wear yellow, and Iruka, as the best man, also wore yellow.

Hinata was wearing a classic white gown (Naruto and Hinata had decided to go with a more western-styled wedding because Hinata loved the dresses, as well as because she wanted to spite her traditional family who wanted a traditional Shinto-like wedding) while Naruto was wearing a black tuxedo and orange undershirt.

The wedding was going to be beautiful, there was no doubt about that. Hinata was a clan heiress, so she had plenty of money to spend on her dream wedding. Naruto, as the Hokage successor, wasn't poor either, especially since he had finally been granted his entire family's inheritance. As it turned out, the Fourth Hokage was quite the well-off, wealthy man who had left a decent amount of money behind for Naruto. And that wasn't counting their mission income, which was a pretty nice amount, too. Needless to say, there had been hardly any restraint in spending on this wedding.

"Are you ready for this, Hinata?" Sakura asked, as the indigo-haired woman smiled, smoothing down her princess-styled dress.

"Yes. I've been waiting for this day since I was four years old. I've been wanting to marry Naruto since the Academy." Sakura smiled softly, slinging at arm around Hinata's shoulders. There was a light in Hinata's face, a glow of happiness, that couldn't be from anything else than having her dream come true after so many years. Sakura closed her eyes, amazed at the love and devotion Hinata had kept through all the years. Of course she deserved to marry Naruto- she saw him when no one else did. She saw Naruto's true worth, even when everyone else hated him.

"It's about time you two got married, too." Hinata nodded, looking once more at her dress. "We better go ahead and change. Naruto will be here soon, and we don't want him to see you in your wedding gown. Bad luck, you know!" Sakura told her, wagging a finger. Hinata nodded, laughing softly, reaching around to unzip the dress. Ino, Tenten, and Sakura all began removing their respective dresses. After all, this was the final fitting of the dresses; in two days would be the wedding rehearsal, and then, the next day, the wedding.

"We'll have to go by the garden to make sure everything is being set up correctly," Sakura continued, hanging up her dress.

"You fixed those problems with the menu, right?" Ino asked. Hinata nodded.

"I took care of that first thing this morning. Sakura, will you help me with getting this off?" Sakura held the edge of Hinata's dress as the woman slowly slid it off. Both wanted to avoid the dress getting dirty. It was too pristine and perfect (and _extremely_ expensive) for it to get wrinkled and smudged.

"Hinata-chan! Sakura-chan!" There was no mistaking the over-exuberant voice of Naruto at the doorway. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten all whipped their heads towards the closed door. They knew he wouldn't bother with knocking or asking to come in. No, not Naruto.

"If you take one step into this room, Naruto, I'll punch you so hard, you won't even be awake for your wedding!" Sakura warned as she saw the knob begin to turn from outside their dressing room. It promptly stopped turning, and Sakura heard a sheepish laugh from Naruto.

The four girls finished placing on their regular outfits, making sure their dresses were back in their dress-bags and hanging up. Sakura was the first to open the door, seeing a crowd of men surrounding the patiently pouting Naruto.

"Hey, guys!" Sakura greeted the men. It seemed like all their respective teams were there with Naruto. Shino, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, Neji, and Sai all stood around Naruto, waiting for the girls to come out.

"Ino, we have a mission," Shikamaru began as soon as the blonde walked out. "Don't worry, we'll be back in time for the wedding rehearsal. It's a simple escort mission within Fire Country boarders. We'll be back by tomorrow night." The kunoichi huffed, but nodded. She gave a brief farewell to her female friends and waved goodbye to the other boys of Rookie Eleven, following Shikamaru and Choji outside of the Hyuuga Compound.

"Tenten, it is time for our training session!" Lee told the other female kunoichi. Tenten nodded, looping her arms with her teammates.

"Of course; it is pretty rare when Neji is actually around to train with us, huh, mister ANBU captain?" she poked the long-haired male. Neji rolled his eyes at his longtime girlfriend, beginning to walk out.

"Hey, Neji, wait a second!" Sakura called, rushing up behind him. Neji turned around, slightly surprised at the kunoichi's call. "Do you know about Arata's newest mission? He left yesterday morning and didn't say too much about when he'll be back. I'm worried he won't make it in time for the wedding."

"I can't say that I do know about it, but I do know that Tsunade-sama said she was trying to keep all shinobi that were close to Naruto and Hinata off missions that would make them miss the wedding. He should be back by tomorrow or tonight, I'd say."

"Ah, okay, thanks!" With that, Neji's team left the building, leaving the old Team Eight and Team Seven hovering around the doorway of Hinata's spare room.

"How about we all go out?" Kiba asked them. Sakura shared a look with Hinata, both women smiling. "I mean, we don't get that much time to spend together anymore. Besides, it's a celebratory time!"

"Yeah, I think we need a break," Sakura told them. "And you're right. We've finally got someone willing to marry this knucklehead!" She looped an arm around Naruto and Sai, nudging her head for Hinata's team to follow them. "How about Ichiraku Ramen? For old time's sake." There was a groan from everyone else, except Naruto.

* * *

><p>The night had fallen, and everyone had left Ichiraku, except Naruto and Sakura. Hinata was the final one to depart, and after briefly kissing Naruto, she had left to check-up on their wedding plans.<p>

Sakura turned to Naruto, knowing that he had been wanting to talk to her. She was surprised to see his crestfallen look.

"What's wrong? You should be excited considering your wedding is only a few days away! You're going to be marrying the woman of your dreams." Naruto gave a weak smile.

"Yeah, you're right. I should be happy. But..." He frowned, placing his head on his hand, sighing. "Sakura-chan, ever since I got on our team, ten years ago, I always had this perfect picture of our future. I had always imagined marrying you, but I edited that version of my dream a few years ago. So, now I always had this picture of me being Hokage and marrying Hinata, and you and Sasuke being at our wedding. You two would be getting married, too. Now, I know you're not ever going to marry Sasuke, and that's fine, but still... I... it doesn't feel like my wedding without him." He sighed. "I just... the dream I always had... it won't... it won't ever happen without Sasuke. We're not ever going to be Team Seven again, are we?"

"You know he can't come out of prison until he wants to, more or less. Until he agrees to be a Konoha shinobi again."

"I know. But... you know, back in the War, I met Itachi. I told you about that. Well, he told me before we departed that he wasn't going to talk to Sasuke again because he had failed in trying to protect him and bring him back. Instead, he tasked me with the job of recruiting Sasuke. But Sakura, it's been over five years and Sasuke won't come back. I go there nearly every day, and he won't budge. I just... I want my best friend, my brother, back." Sakura felt her mouth inadvertently clench. She knew that there was a chance to recruit Sasuke if Itachi were to speak to him now. Then again, if Itachi had tasked Naruto with converting Sasuke back, what would make Itachi change his mind now?

Still, Naruto was her best friend; he was the man that she loved with all her heart in a strictly platonic way. She would give up anything for him- didn't that include giving up what anger and resentment she might still have towards Sasuke? It was time, she decided, to work her magic and get Sasuke to come back; or more like, it was time for the Uchiha brothers to meet again. If there was anyone to convince Itachi to talk to his brother, it would probably be her.

Yeah, she knew that meant revealing the entire truth to Sasuke. And likely, she figured, that would also mean revealing Itachi's true identity to Tsunade and Naruto. But Itachi had been living in the village for seven months now, had become one of the strongest ninja in the village and had risen to the rank of ANBU captain, and had even become a close friend of Naruto's. Tsunade trusted Itachi- well, Arata, too. There shouldn't be repercussions of revealing his identity at this point in time. At least, she hoped not.

"You know, Naruto, maybe I'll go talk to Sasuke and see what I can do. Okay?" Naruto smiled at her, nodding.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. I just want our team to be back together, again. I just want to be a family again." She reached over, squeezing his hand.

"I know. And we will, be, okay? Soon enough, I promise." The two shared a smile, nodding at one another.

* * *

><p>"Itachi..." Itachi was not expecting to hear that tone of voice out of Sakura's mouth the moment he walked inside their home. Usually, he was greeted with a "how'd the mission go?" or "how are you? Any injuries?" but not <em>this<em> tone. He braced himself, wondering what she was going to ask. After all, the tone she had used was the one that she reserved for when she was going to ask for a pretty big favor. He rarely ever heard it directed towards him. For some reason, that just made him that much more nervous to her request.

"Sakura?" he began hesitantly, walking into the kitchen, where he saw her sitting at the table as if waiting for him. She gestured for him to sit down, which he did, placing his ANBU mask on the table. She slowly let her eyes trail down his body, her gaze narrowed; he realized she was looking for wounds. "I'm fine; the mission was a success and easy. No fighting, just reconnaissance." She nodded, smiling. "Now, what do you want to talk about?"

"Hm, you know me too well." Her smile fell, as did her shoulders. She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I didn't want to do this. I was never going to ask you about your past; I assumed, at one point, you would willingly tell me. And I still wouldn't ask, but I'm going to ask you to do something for me and I'd like some background if you agree to it." He leaned back in his chair, deciding to let her explain everything before he spoke. "I want to go speak with Sasuke, and I want you to come with me. I want both of us to speak to him and try to convince him to be a part of Konoha again. This does mean we'll have to reveal your true identity to him; in turn, we'll likely end up revealing your actual identity to Tsunade-sama and Naruto."

"Why do you want to talk to Sasuke?"

"For Naruto." Sakura looked down, clenching her fists. "To be honest, I've held a lot of resentment towards your brother for several years now. I've hated him, despised him, wished him dead. I've grown numb to him, I've become bitter towards him. Now, I don't even know how to describe what I feel towards him. But what I do know is that Naruto wants, more than anything, for Sasuke to see him get married, or at least see him become Hokage. Naruto wants his brother back, is what he told me. I love Naruto more than any other person in this village and I would do nearly anything to make that boy happy. If that means I have to get over my feelings of resentment and hatred towards Sasuke, then so be it. I _will _go talk to him, but I think I'll have a much better chance of getting him to come back to Konoha if you are with me. If we talk to him together, as a team." Sakura had explained everything and now she waited, letting Itachi think over what he would say. This was a serious decision, she knew. It involved him coming clean with most of his past; it involved him coming to face the boy who had killed him; it involved giving up his new identity and possibly falling back into his old life; ultimately, it was the decision of whether or not he wanted to keep his connections with his past, or if he wanted to stay strictly moving forward.

"I have always wanted the best for my little brother. While a few years ago, I did not believe I could do anything to influence my little brother, now I see that I may have some power over him still. So, yes, Sakura, I will tell you anything you wish to know about our pasts, if you believe it would help understand our relationship better. I will go with you to see him. And I will allow you to tell Naruto and Tsunade-sama my true identity, if need be." She smiled at him, bowing her head and thanking him.

"Then I'll start with what I think you should know about Sasuke and I first. It's only fair I tell you about myself, since I'm asking the same of you." Itachi nodded, slightly curious about Sakura's relationship to his younger brother. From what he had pieced together, she had loved his little brother but something had happened that had hurt her beyond belief and had changed her, causing her to despise Sasuke. "I, like so many other girls, was madly in love with your brother from a young age. All the girls at the Academy fought over being with Sasuke. It was a petty, childish crush that was more trouble than it was worth. I did stupid things like breaking off my friendship with Ino for him." She shook her head in disgust.

"Anyways, I was placed on the same team as Sasuke and Naruto as a genin. We had a weird love triangle thing going on, where Naruto loved me, I loved Sasuke, and Sasuke... well, he tolerated Naruto more than me. Over the course of time as a team, I fell in love with Sasuke (an actual, somewhat serious love) and we all improved on our teamwork. I was the one who saw him get his Cursed Seal during the Chuunin Exams; I was the one who tried to stop him and Naruto from killing each other; and ultimately, I was the one who tried to stop him from leaving the village. All three things I failed at. I failed at trying to help him with the Cursed Seal, or getting help immediately for it, like I should have done (he told me not to tell anyone, and I listened to him); Kakashi was the one to stop his and Naruto's fight; and I failed miserably at trying to convince him to stay in the village. I met him on his way out and confessed that I loved him, even going so far as to tell him that I would go with him. He called me annoying, and when I threatened to scream so that he would stay, he knocked me out with a simple 'thank you'." Sakura shook her head again, taking a breath of air.

"Now, let's flash forward a few years. I met Sasuke again, when he was still with Orochimaru. He attacked our team and tried to kill us; I tried to fight him, but still couldn't do anything. Flashing forward a few more months, or so, after Pain's invasion and after you died, we found out that Sasuke had joined Akatsuki. I decided I would kill Sasuke, and relieve Naruto from his promise of retrieving Sasuke for me. Oh, I forgot to mention that part. When Naruto went out to retrieve Sasuke right after he left, he swore with his 'Promise of a Lifetime' that he would bring Sasuke home to me. It nearly got him killed- several times, actually. Well, anyways, Naruto had traveled to Land of Iron to convince the Kages that Sasuke wasn't a super evil villain and didn't need to be called an international criminal. I chased after Naruto with my own team, intending to convince Naruto that I no longer needed him to bring home Sasuke. This plot fails horribly (it involved confessing a false love to Naruto, which he saw through immediately) and Naruto still vowed to bring Sasuke home." Sakura took another breath, leaning her head back. Itachi was still paying attention to her story, a half-amused smirk on his face that fit with his serious look.

"Well, my team was also on a mission to track down and kill Sasuke if we found him. As it so happened, we did get scent of Sasuke. We went after him, but I was determined to kill Sasuke alone. So I knocked out my team and went after Sasuke. When I found him, he was about to kill his female comrade, Karin. I stopped him, trying to fool him into believing that I was willing to betray Konoha to join him. He ordered me to kill Karin; I hesitated and he attacked me, trying to kill me. Karin warned me, but Kakashi arrived in time to save me. Kakashi told me not to worry about killing Sasuke, that he would do it. Still, a few minutes later, I saw an opportunity to attack and I took it. I was... I was so close to killing him. He would have never known if I had just been able to strike him. But I couldn't, no matter how many times I had resolved to kill him. My kunai stopped just centimeters from his back. He turned around and had no problems with killing me. He got his hands around my neck and began to choke me. It's funny; thinking back, I could have pulled chakra to my hands and forced him off of me. I could have paralyzed his arm or something with my chakra. But I was frozen, and yet again, I had to be saved by Naruto." Sakura groaned, letting her head rest against her palm.

"We didn't see each other again after that. Not until after Madara was dead and Naruto was fighting to bring him back to Konoha. And yet, even at that moment when I had told myself that I would kill Sasuke if he killed Naruto, I doubt I would have done it. Even after Naruto fought Sasuke, had beaten him, I think I still loved him deep down. I know I loved him even during the Fourth War. I didn't stop loving Sasuke until I was seventeen or eighteen, at least. I never visited him in prison, because I _wanted_ to hate him. I wanted to, with every fiber of my being. So I waited until I finally could despise him for everything he had done. He had stopped me from moving on with my life, had kept me at a standstill. He was my character foil- everything he did highlighted something negative in me. With Sasuke, he caused my personal development to reverse, it felt like. That's why, with him out of my life, I was finally able to move on and move ahead." She sighed once more, but looked up at Itachi. "That's why I've always been so hesitant on ever talking about him, or even asking you to try and get him back in the village. I was never sure if I wanted him back. I'm still not sure if I want him back. I'm scared at what could happen."

"Happen?" Itachi asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Old habits die hard, sometimes. I don't think I would, but I'm scared that I may fall for him again. Which would be so stupid because I know he's bad for me. I know there are way better guys for me, like you, and to ever go back to him would be an insult to my growth over the years. I don't mean to insult your brother; he just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

"He was abusive towards you. That is fully my fault, though. Sasuke used to be able to love unconditionally. When I killed our family, he lost that ability. He pushed away people who loved him in fear of them being killed. I am thankful for you and Naruto and all the support you've given him over the years. He needs people to love him, because eventually, it should help heal him. However, I do agree with the fact that you should never go back to him in a romantic way. He may grow to love you- I'm sure he would. I'm sure he'd try hard to be a good husband. But I think he'd look at you almost the same way my father looked at my mother. You'd be reduced to a mother and a housewife. I know you, Sakura, and that's not what you deserve. You've worked too hard to lose your kunoichi abilities." She smiled and nodded. "If you ever want to get married, you deserve a husband that respects your career choices and doesn't force you to choose."

There was a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, and to distract herself, Sakura ran a hand through her hair, combing it with her fingers. She laughed sheepishly, and decided to change the subject. "What about you and Sasuke, Itachi? I know you love your brother and the reason you spared him in your mission was because of how much you loved him. But I don't understand why you got that mission in the first place. I don't understand a lot about your past."

Itachi shook his head, sighing. "My past would explain much of the reason that Sasuke hates me. It would also explain my hesitance to talk to him. Let me begin with this- what do you know of the reason that I acquired that mission?"

"Only that your clan was planning to overthrow the village." He nodded, lacing his fingers underneath his chin.

"That is true, though it stems many years before that." Taking a deep breath, Itachi launched into a long explanation about his clan's history and the founding of Konoha, including the Uchiha and Senju rivalry and Madara's past. "With the Uchiha's lack of aid during the Kyuubi attack, the village decided to place them in their own compound area; a corner in the village. The Clan didn't react kindly to that- they began to plot a coup d'état. Eventually, I was tasked to be a spy on the village once I placed in ANBU. But, having grown up during the Third Shinobi World War, I loathed violence and I knew if my clan completed their task, they would cause a civil war within the village, thus allowing enemy villages an opportunity to attack the weakened Konoha. Therefore, I became a double agent and began spying on my own clan and reporting their activities to the Hokage.

"During this time, I had a very close friend whom I thought of as an older brother. His name was Shisui, and he was as strong as I was in the Clan. However, he had an ability that I did not- one that not even Madara had. In his Mangekyo Sharingan, he had the the ability to perform the strongest genjutsu in the world called Kotoamatsukami. It allows whoever he casts it on to be unaware they are under a genjutsu, and nothing can break it. It is so strong, it can override other jutsus. For example, I used it to regain my senses during the Fourth Shinobi World War as a puppet. Kabuto's jutsu no longer affected my personality because of Shisui's jutsu. Well, Shisui's eyes became coveted, and eventually, Danzo stole one from Shisui. Shisui loved Konoha and wished no harm on the village. He was devoted to the Uchiha Clan, but more devoted to the village. Because of his eyes, he feared there would be conflicts within the village. The last time I saw him, he gave me his remaining eye, and killed himself to make it look like his eyes had been crushed so no one could retrieve them. I hid his eye within one of my crows and sealed the crow away so no one could ever use his eye. Eventually, I implanted the crow into Naruto to use against Sasuke, but my plan became a little twisted due to my revival as a puppet. I ended up destroying the crow and the eye during the War.

"As it turned out, Shisui had been given the task of spying on me because my clan was suspicious of my behavior. Once Shisui was found dead, I became the prime suspect for his murder. Right around this time, I was given the order to kill my clan. It was not suggested by the Hokage, but by Danzo. Danzo's political pressure is what forced the Hokage to agree. Right before I carried out my mission, I met Madara, who had infiltrated the village. He was still angry at being kicked out of the Uchiha Clan, so I offered him the chance to enact his revenge on the clan as long as he would not attack Konoha. He agreed and we both worked together to massacre our clan. However, I could not kill Sasuke. I made up the excuse of power for him, making myself out to be the bad guy, so that I could protect him from the truth about our clan and from Madara. I threatened the Council to keep their paws off Sasuke, and begged the Hokage to protect him. He agreed and I left the village, deciding to join Akatsuki as a double agent."

"A double agent?"

"You were not aware? Yes, I served Akatsuki as a double agent. While I did whatever they wished of me, I purposely failed in collecting the Nine Tails from Naruto, and made sure not to let any harm befall Konoha. I also provided information occasionally to Jiraiya about the organization."

"And all this time, I just thought we were too strong for you to get Naruto." Itachi smirked, shaking his head.

"No, I could have easily collected him several times. But that would be betraying my village and despite all titles, I was a loyal Konoha shinobi my entire life."

"I know," she smiled. "So, as for everything else, I know the rest of it? You haven't hid anything else? Even as a puppet?" Itachi shook his head.

"I told you earlier how my fight went with Sasuke, and since you revived me, you obviously know about the disease I had. And I believe Naruto told you most of what happened when I was a puppet." Sakura nodded, frowning contemplatively.

"So, because of you hiding all of this history from Sasuke, he felt even more betrayed when he found out you were a good guy?" Itachi nodded. "And you haven't really wanted to meet with him because you are not sure how he's going to react once he sees you? And, given your history before, it's likely it'll be explosive."

"That is accurate." Itachi closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against his clasped hands. "I love my brother. I'm angry and frustrated at what he's done, but I understand why he did it. I know it's mostly my fault. In retrospect, I could have done everything differently. But I was thirteen and I was overwhelmed. I tried to shoulder it all and it all went to hell." He opened his eyes and looked up at Sakura. "It's not an excuse. But, I'll be fair and also admit that it still hurts when my brother declares he hates me. I deserve it. But it does bother me." Sakura nodded sympathetically.

"Of course. You gave up everything for him." The two lapsed into silence. Finally, Itachi sighed and looked back up at Sakura.

"When do you wish to talk to Sasuke?"

"Tomorrow morning, if we can. Early as possible, I'd say." Itachi nodded, beginning to stand. "Itachi?" He stopped, looking back at her. "Thank you. I know this won't be easy, but I really appreciate it. Naruto will appreciate it." He gave her a small smile, nodding.

"I know he will. And it's time to mend the relationship with my brother." He walked out of the room, making sure to take his ANBU mask with him.

"Hey, while you shower, I'll make dinner, okay? Some cabbage? I know it's your favorite!" He smiled, nodding.

"That sounds wonderful."

* * *

><p>"Sakura-sama, Arata-sama!" The guards bowed out of the way, allowing the two high-ranking members to pass through the cell doors.<p>

"I will be entering his cell today, but don't worry. I'll keep Arata-kun with me for protection. I should be fine, though. No worries! I may be in here a while; I want to talk to him. Don't let anyone else in here with us, okay?"

"Of course, Sakura-sama. We'll be outside the hallway." Sakura nodded, gesturing for Itachi to follow her. They walked into Sasuke's isolated hallway, briefly waiting for the heavy steel doors to close behind them. Sakura walked on, approaching the steel door covering Sasuke's cell. Her footsteps echoed through the hallways, while Itachi's fell silent- Sakura knew he was purposely hiding his presence from his little brother. Sakura turned to Itachi, gesturing for him to hide behind the wall so that Sasuke wouldn't spot him. He slipped into the shadows, letting Sakura have Sasuke's full attention. She rapped on his cell door politely, before making the necessary hand signs to open the door.

As expected, Sasuke was laying on his bed, watching her carefully as she entered his dimly lit cell. She offered him a small smile, letting the light from the hallway illuminate her.

"You," he began, frowning. "I haven't seen you in almost a year." Sakura nodded, letting her hands clasp behind her back. She bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Yep. Ten months, to be precise. I'm sure you know why I've come, right?" Sasuke huffed, turning away from her.

"I'm not coming back. No matter how much you and Naruto plead."

"It is his wedding, Sasuke," Sakura told him softly. Sasuke shrugged. "Okay, let me try a new tactic. _Why_ won't you come back? It's been six years since you've been in here. You're twenty-three years old, Sasuke. Don't you think it's about time for you to rejoin the outside world instead of letting the last member of the Uchiha Clan rot away?"

"I can't defeat Konoha; I realize this," he told her. "However, I refuse to rejoin a village that killed off my clan. That pitted my brother against me." Sakura made a sound of agreement, crossing her arms.

"Ah, okay, well... Don't you think you're betraying your brother by not rejoining the village? I know Itachi is hurt by how you've turned out. Actually, I'm positive he's pretty pissed at how you've turned his sacrifices into some vengeful quest for revenge and murder against the village he loved." Sasuke sat up, glaring at her.

"How _dare_ you act like you know what my brother is thinking. You don't _know _Itachi!" His nostrils flared and Sakura was sure that if Sasuke still had the ability, he would have activated his Mangekyo Sharingan on her. Still, she smiled, glancing out of the cell and shaking her head at Itachi, who had tensed up at Sasuke's spike in chakra.

"On the contrary, Sasuke, I know him very well." Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but Sakura cut him off. "Back when we fought, when Team Seven was first reunited, when I tried to kill you and you tried to kill me, you told Kakashi-sensei something. You told him your revenge wouldn't stop unless he brought back your mother, your father, your brother, and your clan. I cannot bring back your mother, father, or your clan. To do so would render them as nothing more than puppets and would require tremendous amounts of sacrifices. I'm not willing to do that. But your brother... well, what would you do if I told you I have the ability to revive the dead? What would you do if I told you I _have_ revived the dead?"

"You're lying. And even so, there is no way you could have revived Itachi!" Sakura smiled softly at Sasuke, who's eyes had turned wide and panicked at the idea that the one man he had loved so much could possibly still be living.

"When I was eighteen years old, I began the process of developing my own jutsu- one that revived a person without the use of a sacrifice. Ten months ago, when I last visited you to study your Sharingan, you were correct in believing I was replicating your eyes. Except, I was not giving them to anyone else except to their rightful owner, Itachi Uchiha. Seven months ago, I succeeded in reviving your brother's dead body, which I had been healing for five months prior to that. Sasuke, your brother is alive, and has been for seven months now, reinstated as a Konoha shinobi. He's an ANBU captain, he has befriended Naruto, Sai, Neji, and Shikamaru, and he's been living with me since the moment I revived him." Sasuke's pupils had become dilated, and he shook his head rapidly.

"Sakura, you're lying. You're lying! I never knew you to be cruel, not like this!"

"She's telling the truth, Sasuke." Sasuke looked up, while Sakura stepped out of the way, letting the light illuminate Itachi's presence in the doorway. Sasuke flinched backwards, his mouth opening at the sight of his older brother. Even with blue eyes, a slightly changed facial structure, and hair styled differently, there was no mistaking the man as being his older brother. "Sakura found my body preserved and buried; she took it home with her and worked endlessly to give me a second chance at life. I had not planned on coming here to speak with you; I was going to let Naruto convince you to come back. But as a favor to both Sakura and Naruto, I agreed to come here."

"I-I... I killed you."

"We are not denying that you did, Sasuke," Sakura told him. "I revived your brother. He's been living with another identity for the past seven months, as Arata Genji, the Itachi-clone, but he's still your brother. Ask him something that only the real Itachi would know; he'll answer it." Sasuke found his mouth moving unconsciously; he was still having trouble keeping up with the events that were spiraling out of his control.

"When I was younger, what would you do to me after you would refuse to train me?" Itachi gave a half smile and waved Sasuke forward. Sasuke, without his consent, felt himself moving forward to Itachi, who took two fingers and poked Sasuke's forehead.

"Forgive me Sasuke... Maybe next time." Sasuke pushed away from Itachi, sitting back on his bed, gritting his teeth and shaking his head. "I told you that it ended with that gesture- when you killed me. I told you there would be no more next times. However, as I had not foreseen this happening, there is a possibility for next times." Sasuke swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. Sakura and Itachi knew that the man was fighting away tears.

"Y-you... you lied to me. About the Clan, about the Massacre, about you."

"It was to protect you. I had not expected Madara to know so much and tell you everything. That was not my intention." Sasuke leaned against the cell wall, turning his face to stare upwards at the ceiling. "You should know by now that everything I have ever done was to protect you and make you stronger." Sasuke nodded.

"I know," he responded, his voice hoarse. "...Is Sakura right?"

"That I'm pissed at you? Yes, she is very accurate in her statements. You deliberately went in the exact opposite direction that I wanted for you, deciding to hate the village that had protected you for most of your life. You've also harmed multiple people in this village, which furthers the anger I feel towards you. And, of course, you allied yourself with _Madara_. I'm furious about that." Itachi walked closer, kneeling down at Sasuke's bedside. "You've made a lot of bad decisions, little brother. Betraying the village, going to Orochimaru, turning against your friends, allying yourself with Madara... You've brought our clan name down, as well. The last three remaining Uchiha's were the worst, is all I've heard since I've been revived. Madara, Itachi, and Sasuke... A crazed murderer, a clan killer, and the insane, vengeful pupil of Orochimaru. I know everything you've done since my death, and I'm very ashamed at what you've done." Sasuke's jaw clenched and he whipped his head up to look at Itachi.

"What did you expect, nii-san? You left me fragmented, told me to go after you no matter what. You hid everything from me... you..." Sasuke bowed his head, his voice choking up. "You twisted me into someone that shouldn't have happened. How was I supposed to feel after successfully killing you, just to find out that I just killed the greatest guy who loved me with everything in him? Huh? How do you think I felt after realizing everything I had ever known had been a lie! I had just killed the person closest to me-my brother... I loved you, and for it to turn out that you... you protected me above all else... Well, I sure didn't feel like a real winner, I'll tell you that!" Tears finally broke through, and Sasuke shook his head, gritting his teeth. "I felt betrayed, and lost, and confused. I wanted vengeance on the village, I wanted to kill those that had ordered the death of my clan. I still want to kill... to kill those old, crusty elders that took everything away from us!" Itachi softly shook his head.

"That's where you don't see what's in front of you, Sasuke. You never did have that ability to see farther ahead, to see what was underneath the underneath, so to speak. _I _was the one that got the orders, that had to kill the Clan. I was the one that shouldered that responsibility. I tried to spare you from everything; don't you see how you're trying to take something that doesn't belong to you? I have that blame and guilt to live with, not you, Sasuke. You've always been so pure... I don't want to see you so twisted with hate and malice. Do you not think that I hate the Council for ordering that mission? Do you not think that a day goes by when I don't beg for forgiveness for what I did? But, Sasuke, if I can come back and live in the village, and make a new life for myself, don't you think that you have the same ability?" Sasuke bowed his head, not meeting his brother's blue eyes.

"I'm not you, Itachi. I never have been, and I never have been able to live up to your expectations." Itachi laughed lightly, placing his hand on his younger brother's arm.

"Sasuke, I have loved you as best as I could, given the circumstances. You have always been my most important person, the one I strived to protect. Sakura gave me another chance to live. I'm trying to give you another chance, too. Release these feelings of revenge and come back to the village."

"Sakura, is this some type of elaborate genjutsu?" Sasuke asked her, avoiding Itachi's statement. Sakura flinched, scoffing.

"No! You can sense his chakra, can't you? Itachi is one-hundred percent real. Anyways, I can't cast that level of genjutsu. I'm only proficient in seeing through genjutsus, not creating them." She leaned back against the cell wall, crossing her arms across her chest. "Really, Sasuke, get over your stupid pride and come back with us. I've given you your brother back, what more could you want? Naruto is desperate for you to come back, and I promised him I'd make you come back, one way or another." Sakura pushed herself away from the wall, walking over and kneeling down beside Itachi, in front of Sasuke's cot. "It's time for you to realize what you're missing." She smiled and placed her own hand on Sasuke's other arm. "You've always wanted your older brother back, the one you had as a child. Well, this is that chance. He's back, he's willing; it's all up to you now, Sasuke." Sasuke shook his head softly, letting his tears fall.

"Come back and be a Konoha shinobi, little brother. Let us fight on the same side, for once. Sakura is right; I can be the older brother you always wanted. The older brother I always wanted to be. There is nothing holding us back this time, nothing except for you." Sasuke swallowed hard, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, yes. I want that." He took a shuddering breath, looking up at the ceiling again. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the hate and the quest for vengeance. I want... I want it all to end." It was Sakura who stood up and offered him her hand.

"Then c'mon. You have a second chance, too," she told him smiling. Itachi stood up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist, waiting for Sasuke's choice. Sasuke noticed his brother's arm around his former teammates waist, but opted to say nothing, instead focusing in on Sakura's hand. Slowly, he placed his hand in hers, letting the woman pull him to his feet. Itachi and Sakura both smiled at Sasuke's choice.

"It's good to have you back, Sasuke." Sasuke smirked, nodding. Itachi smiled at his little brother, poking him in the forehead.

"It begins with this, Sasuke." There was a brief second of hesitation, before Sasuke finally succumbed to his inner child, and hugged his older brother. It shocked both Itachi and Sakura, but Itachi gently patted Sasuke's back, returning his hug. No one commented of Sasuke's tears as he hugged Itachi.

* * *

><p>"We'll have to tell Tsunade-sama the truth," Sakura muttered to Itachi, as she walked back into Sasuke's jail cell. "There's no way to get Sasuke out without her coming down here. And I know Tsunade-sama; she'll have to know exactly what made Sasuke change his mind before she'll even think about letting him out."<p>

"Which means you'd have to explain how you revived me to explain how I was able to convince Sasuke to rejoin the village." Sakura nodded. "You could always lie to her about how you convinced Sasuke."

"No, she'd see right through it. I mean, I can try." Sakura sat down beside Itachi, frowning. They were all sitting in Sasuke's jail cell- Sasuke on his bed, and the two on the floor beside it. Sasuke watched the two, following along with his eyes as they conversed.

"Do you want me to reveal everything to her? I know part of the deal was strictly that you were given a fake identity so no one would ever have to expect the same things out of you that they did Itachi. I also know you wanted to protect your clan's image. I don't know if Tsunade-sama knows the truth about the Massacre, though I assume she does. Naruto knows, after all." Itachi nodded, frowning contemplatively.

"We could tell her," he agreed. "It was not exactly what I had planned. Especially considering the lengths we went to avoid speaking about it."

"I know. We had such an elaborate falsified history, too. And by admitting who you really are means I have to admit about my jutsu and breaking into that room." Sakura sighed. "I'll get in so much trouble..."

"We don't have to do it," Itachi told her. Sakura leaned against his shoulder, groaning.

"I know. But look at everything Naruto did to get Sasuke here. No, I can do this. But, can you?" Itachi let out a small laugh, nodding.

"I've done many things more difficult than this, Sakura. Anyways, I'm sure she already knows the truth of my identity, even if she cannot figure out how I've been revived." Sakura nodded.

"I know you're right. I know she knows. But..." Sakura hesitated, a her brow furrowed. "I just hate to lie to you. I promised you that you wouldn't have to go back to being Itachi and... well..." Itachi shook his head, giving Sakura's hair a soft pat.

"I've made several more sacrifices for the things I love. It is not as if we are telling the entire village, or the Council. We will speak to Tsunade-sama."

"And probably Naruto. Which means we'll have to tell others, too, I bet. Like Kakashi-sensei or Shikamaru." Itachi wrapped an arm around her waist, shrugging. "I know. If you're willing to do this, I am too." Itachi nodded at Sakura.

Sasuke, who had remained silent during their interaction, finally spoke up. "You two are obviously close. What _is_ going on between you two, though?" He looked at his older brother, who was holding a girl in a way that he had never seen Itachi do before. Sasuke could vaguely remember Itachi having a girlfriend when they were younger- a solemn, black-haired Uchiha girl that was strikingly pretty. But from what Sasuke could remember, Itachi had hardly held hands with the girl.

Sakura was nothing like Itachi's first girlfriend. Sakura was outgoing, cheerful, independent; she was the opposite of most Uchiha women. Which, Sasuke realized, was probably what his older brother would want. He had always been a bit strange compared to the other clan members. No wonder he would pick a woman who was, in almost every sense, the exact opposite of his first girlfriend and, thus, the expectations of the type of woman Itachi was supposed to marry.

"We're not really dating, if that's what you're asking," Sakura told him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, clearly marking his disbelief. Pointedly, he looked at Itachi's arm wrapped around her waist. "At least, we haven't had a mutual discussion about the status of our relationship."

"You look like you're dating," Sasuke told them, shifting to his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Does that make you uncomfortable, little brother?" Itachi asked him, a bit of dry humor in his voice. "Since this was the woman that used to love you unconditionally?"

"As I recall, she was also the woman that tried to kill me," Sasuke retorted, equally as monotonous. It drew a smirk to Itachi's face. "Still, I can't picture you being with someone _annoying._" Sakura glowered, unconsciously drawing chakra to her fist. Itachi placed his hand over her fist, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She took a deep breath, relaxing her fingers.

"Please forgive me, Itachi, for being so awfully _annoying_." Sakura sent a glare towards Sasuke, wondering why she was willing to do so much to get him out of prison. _Only for Naruto._ "I'll have to work on being a less annoying girlfriend, I suppose."

"Girlfriend? Didn't you just claim you two weren't dating?" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It's complicated, Sasuke."

"Not really, Sakura. Just turn to him to and ask him if you two are dating." She snorted, but humored him. Turning to face Itachi, she smiled.

"Itachi-_kun , _are we dating?" He returned her fake smile with one of his own.

"If you would like to, Sakura_-chan_, then yes, we can." Sakura nodded, and turned back to Sasuke.

"Well, lookie there, Sasuke. It looks like we are now dating." Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, back on topic. Sasuke, we have to go meet with Tsunade-sama and explain quite a few things to her before we can get you out. We'll be back tomorrow, hopefully. Maybe if all goes well, we'll get you to Naruto's wedding like he wanted."

"Fine," Sasuke responded. "What about my Sharingan?" Sakura smirked.

"You're not getting that back for a _looong_ time. We'll discuss this all with Tsunade-sama, though. Are we good now? Both brothers have everything worked out? You guys love each other and are all friendly now?"

"Sakura, I don't believe a few hours of conversation can mend a relationship that has been damaged over several years," Itachi told her. "It'll take some time to reconnect as we used to be. But we're making progress, right?" Itachi's eyes flickered to his brother. Sasuke nodded.

"We're as good as we can be given the circumstances. We'll work more issues out after I'm released." Sakura nodded, standing up and looping her arm in Itachi's.

"I have to work the night shift tonight, so I want to go meet with Tsunade-sama before I go to work," Sakura explained. "That's why I've got to cut this visit a bit short; sorry, Sasuke." Sasuke nodded. "I suppose we'll see you later tomorrow, then, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere," he told her, turning away from her, laying back on his cot.

"That is quite true, isn't it?" she snickered, turning away from him as well.

"Sakura," Sasuke called as Sakura and Itachi were walking out of his cell, "thank you. For bringing Itachi back. I used to think you were useless and weak; that you would never change. But I was wrong. You have changed- I don't know you at all anymore. And if you make Itachi happy, then I guess I'm happy, too. So, thanks for giving him, and me, a second chance." Sakura turned back and gave Sasuke the first, real smile he had seen all day.

"Thank you, Sasuke. Those words... they do mean a lot to me." Sasuke nodded, and Sakura turned back around, leading Itachi out of the prison cell.

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><p>"That went well, I think," Sakura remarked. "Much better than I expected." She took a deep breath, leaning on the old Team Seven meeting place's bridge rail. "Sasuke handled it well." Itachi nodded, leaning beside her on the rail.<p>

"He did. I was surprised." Sakura nodded, looking off into the blue waters below. "Sakura, something is bothering you."

"Yeah," she told him, opting not to elaborate right away. They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, before Sakura began to speak again. "I feel awful about making you do this. About revealing everything. I just don't want to destroy everything we've worked for. I don't want anything to change between us." He shook his head.

"I'm not just doing this for you, or for Naruto. Sasuke is still my little brother; I do still care about him." Sakura took a deep breath, nodding.

"What will happen if Tsunade doesn't accept it? What will we do?" She turned to him, her eyes reflecting her worry. He shook his head softly, letting his hand rest on top of hers.

"We discussed this months ago. We can escape. You have enough political allies; we can figure something out. Aren't you friends with Gaara? He's offered you a safe-haven in Suna, hasn't he? I'm sure if we explained everything to him, he would accept you into his village." Sakura nodded.

"Before we go speak to Tsunade-sama, Itachi, I want everything between us cleared up, okay?"

"Is something unclear between us?" She nodded, turning her entire body to face him. "What would that be?"

"Our relationship. And don't you dare deny it; we're closer than any 'friends'. I want... I want us to be completely united in whatever we do when we go into to Tsunade's office. If that means we're officially a couple now, then let's do it. If that means we're only friends, then so be it. But we need to decide before anything else, okay? Because I want to put all my confusion of our relationship behind us and focus solely on Sasuke and what is going to happen next." Itachi nodded, sighing lightly.

"I suppose it is time we decide, isn't it?" Sakura nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Don't do that; it looks defensive."

"It is defensive," Sakura retorted. "I'm nervous at what you're going to say." He rolled his eyes.

"Do you really think I wouldn't agree to date you? After everything we've been through? I cannot imagine myself with anyone else, Sakura." He pried a hand from her chest, holding it up between them. "I've never willingly kissed another woman because I simply _wanted _to. I have with you." She rolled her eyes, trying to fight down a blush. He noticed and smirked. "Yes, Sakura Haruno, I will be your boyfriend." Despite trying to stay serious and annoyed, she couldn't help but smile.

"Just that simple, huh?" Itachi nodded, turning to face the water. Sakura turned with him, looking out at the horizon, keeping her smile.

"It is true that you've done more for me than any other person has in my entire life. You did not even know me, but yet you went out on a limb to revive me. I respect you more than you could imagine for that. I respect your kind nature and innocence, despite your profession as a trained killer." Sakura's smile quirked, as she saw the irony in his statement.

"Well then, Itachi Uchiha, I would love to be your girlfriend. After all, I do not know of a man that I respect more than you. Or a man I would rather spend my time with. Seven months of living with a very alive you has shown me that much." They both turned and smiled lightly at one another. Sakura laughed sheepishly, nervous at the intense look he gave her, and the two interlaced their hands. She wanted to kiss him, but at the same time, it just felt too awkward to do that at the moment.

"How about we go see Tsunade-sama? After all, we've got that whole issue cleared up, huh?" Itachi nodded, both of them walking to the Hokage Tower. The joy of their new relationship faded quickly from their minds as apprehension took over with each step that brought them closer to Tsunade's office.

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked one last time, standing outside the doorway to the Tower. Itachi sighed exasperated, but nodded.

"It'll be okay, Sakura. I promise. We're in this together." Sakura took a deep breath, nodding, squaring her shoulders. He grabbed her shoulder, turning her back to face him. "Together," he repeated, leaning down and quickly kissing her. She blinked, closing her eyes; it was over within a second, but it had the desired effect of calming her down.

"You're right. Together." They kept their hands interlaced as they walking into the building and up the stairs. At Tsunade's office door, Sakura knocked twice. Her mentor called for her to enter; both shinobi glanced at each other, nodded, and took the final steps in.

Naruto, Shizune, and Tsunade, looked curiously to Itachi and Sakura's sudden appearance.

"Sakura, can I help you?" Itachi gave Sakura's hand a comforting squeeze. She nodded at her mentor.

"Tsunade-sama, we need to talk. I think you better soundproof the room. It's time I told you, and Naruto, the truth. The truth about Arata and Itachi."

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>keep months and dates accurate. lol<p>

Anyways, I did want to explain something in this chapter. I dunno if anyone caught it, but Sasuke calls Itachi "nii-san" at one point. I typically don't use Japanese phrases, except titles and suffixes, and the occasional jutsu. Nii-san, to me, seems too Japanese for this story when I've tried this entire time to make this story more based on English translations. However, I just feel that Sasuke's childlike, innocent way of saying nii-san, as he did before the Massacre, could not be accurately translated with the same feelings. I know it's translated to "brother", but that term just feels too generic to me, whereas Sasuke's "nii-san" is characteristic of the child Sasuke from before the Massacre. This is the reason I decided to keep that term in Japanese, while Itachi still uses the English "Little brother". I suppose, ultimately, the only reason I use the Japanese words is because there are some elements to Japanese that cannot easily be translated. An example are the suffixes, like "-san". It could translate to Mr. or Ms., but that doesn't sound good in everyday speech. But in previous chapters, the "-san" was an important element in Sakura and Itachi's relationship. It showed how they grew closer together and whatnot.

Eck, I think that's everything. Any questions or concerns, just be sure to ask!

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

****_After so many months, Sakura and Itachi reveal the truth that they have hidden from everyone. They must bravely face the consequences. And of course, if their plan works out, Sasuke will be released. Sakura can only imagine what will happen with two Uchihas. _

**_Chapter Sixteen: Secrets and Truths_**

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><p>Ugh, I must go to bed now. I'm tired. Well, tired-ish. Bleck. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know this was what everyone has been asking about since like... chapter two. lol. Tell me what you thought! <p>


	16. Chapter 16: Secrets and Truths

So, first off, super duper sorry at how long this chapter has taken to post! I was sick, busy, and out of town for the past few weeks. I know it's been a long time, though, because I got like two or three messages asking if I was quitting my story lol. No worries, people, I plan to finish this story! I have no intentions what-so-ever of giving this baby up :D

Oh, and just as an fyi, if there is a few weeks that I haven't updated, check my profile at the very bottom. I usually have an updates page that says when I'm going to update, or why there is a delay in updates :)

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><p><span>Chapter Sixteen:<span>_ Secrets and Truths_

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><p>"The truth? What is there to tell?" Tsunade replied, narrowing her eyes at her pupil. Sakura made a gesture to the room, indicating that she wished for Tsunade to soundproof it. Tsunade sighed, making the necessary hand signs to silence the room to the outside.<p>

"Do you want me in here?" Shizune asked. Sakura shrugged, and looked at Itachi. He shrugged as well. Both turned towards Tsunade, letting her make the decision.

"No, Shizune, I would rather hear this alone," Tsunade told her assistant. Shizune nodded, bowing her head in respect, and slipping out of the room. "Naruto, I'd send you out, too, but they asked for you to know. So I'll respect their wishes and keep you in here. Okay, Sakura, what is this about?"

"I know you've long suspected that Arata Genji is Itachi Uchiha. All of you said that they were one in the same; Kakashi, Neji, and Hinata all confirmed, I'm sure, that Arata has some type of funky eye-chakra, as if it's a Sharingan. Kakashi would have recognized Arata's fighting moves as being identical to Itachi's. Naruto has even confirmed that Arata and Itachi had the same chakra and scent. But, of course, there was one reason that you could never prove that the two were one in the same: Itachi Uchiha was dead and was confirmed as being dead, considering his body was used by Kabuto in the Fourth Shinobi World War."

"This is correct," Tsunade agreed. "Eventually, we figured it was a secret between you and Arata, or it was simply an unnatural coincidence. Either way, we all accepted the fact that Arata was different from Itachi Uchiha."

"But is he, really?" Sakura took a deep breath, bracing herself. "Itachi Uchiha and Arata Genji are one in the same." Tsunade's eyebrows raised, while Naruto's mouth dropped open. "Itachi is wearing permanent colored contacts to conceal his Sharingan, and I altered his facial structure so he didn't resemble Itachi as much. Nonetheless, the man you see beside me is the famed Itachi Uchiha."

"But he was dead, Sakura-chan," Naruto told her, frowning confusedly. Sakura took another breath, closing her eyes and nodding.

"This is where I begin my tale. As you know, Chiyo-baa-sama revived Gaara in front of me. Her jutsu greatly impacted my life and from that day on, I knew there was a possibility to revive the dead without using someone else as a sacrifice. After the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, I became determined to figure out a way to revive the dead without the use of a sacrifice, and without sacrificing my own life. At age eighteen, I began the process of writing my own revival jutsu. It took me three years of constant work, but eventually, I accomplished my goal- at least, I believed I could. I could revive animals. The only thing missing was a dead human to perform my jutsu on." Tsunade nodded, while Naruto sat in stunned silence.

"This is where the second part of my tale begins. In July, last year, I was filing scrolls for you, Tsunade-sama. While I was in the Konoha Archive Library, I accidentally stumbled upon a hidden room. It was covered in genjutsus, and being the curious girl that I am, I disabled the jutsus to explore the room. As it turned out, this room was a room of secrets; village secrets of the darkest nature. It was here that I found out the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Itachi was ordered by the village to kill his clan. He wasn't a deranged, psychopathic killer; he was simply a good shinobi doing his duty to the village. After finding this out, I wasn't sure what to do. Sasuke confirmed the truth in the scroll, and even told me where he had buried Itachi. Coincidentally, it was at the place where he had last fought Itachi. This was the same place I passed on my way home from Suna, two months after reading the scroll. I found Itachi's burial place and decided I would bring Itachi home and revive him to offer him a second chance at life." Tsunade nodded, lacing her fingers underneath her chin.

"This jutsu of yours, then, I'm assuming it worked?" Sakura nodded.

"It took five months of healing and storing up chakra. There was one failed attempt, but finally, I succeeding and revived him on the eighteenth of February."

"Do you have this jutsu written down? I'd like to examine it." Sakura nodded.

"Of course. I'll bring it by later and we can discuss it. Assuming, that is, I won't get into trouble." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"We'll discuss your multiple criminal activities later. I'm more curious about this jutsu that has succeeded in reviving the dead. It's quite the achievement. However, before we get to either of those issues, I want to focus my attention on the reason as to _why_ you are admitting this to me. I have not said anything of my suspicions of Itachi for seven months, so why are you admitting this without prompt? What has changed?"

"Naruto deserves to have Sasuke at his wedding. The only way to get Sasuke out was to reveal the truth to him. And the only way to explain Sasuke's new change of heart is to explain the entire situation. You can go talk to him, Tsunade-sama, to see what we're talking about. He wants out. He wants to come back and rejoin the village. He wants to be a brother to Itachi again." Tsunade nodded slowly, mulling over what Sakura had said.

"I see. I will speak to him tonight, then. But before that, Arata- no, Itachi, please explain to me your involvement in this entire scheme. I want your side of this."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama. I shall start at the beginning. How much do you know about the Uchiha Clan Massacre? Do you know the truth of it?" Tsunade interlocked her fingers together, nodding. "Naruto, I know you know the truth as well." He nodded, his eyes serious.

"You know the truth?" Tsunade asked Naruto. The blonde-haired boy nodded.

"Madara told me back before the War began. He told me, Kakashi-sensei, and Yamato. When I met Itachi during the War, he made me swear not to tell anyone the truth about him so that the Uchiha Clan could be remembered as an honorable clan." Tsunade nodded. "Sasuke also knows the truth about the Massacre, because Madara told him, too."

"I see. Well, yes, I know the truth because once a Hokage becomes Hokage, they are allowed to access the room that Sakura has unfortunately found. Usually, the preceding Hokage tells the next Hokage about the room, but considering my predecessors were all dead when I came to power... I found out about the room through unconventional means. To be clear, though, no one else besides Hokages are to know about the room's existence. The Council does not know and no one else should know either. Well, except little miss nosy Sakura, who stumbled upon the room."

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"I'm not mad. Well, I haven't had the chance to become mad, so as of right now, I'm not mad about it. Anyways, continue on, Itachi."

"Well, since we all know the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre, then I do not need to explain that I have always been a loyal Konoha Shinobi, despite what my reputation says. When Sakura revived me, she offered me the chance to reinstate myself as a shinobi, under the cover story of 'Arata Genji' and allow me to live the life I never received when I was the Heir. Because she was going to hide the existence of her revival jutsu, I would never have to reveal myself. As you all know, there was no way I could be Itachi because he was proven to be dead during the Fourth War. This is why I agreed to live with her and assume a false identity."

"And being back in the village, Itachi? You do not wish for revenge on the Council or what has happened to you?"

"I do not deny the fact that I despise the Council. I hate them with every fiber of my being in a way that no one can imagine. I do not forgive them and I never will. If they were to die, I would not mourn, and if they were to die by my hand, I would be pleased. But, I do not seek out revenge against them because that would do nothing for me. What is done is done, and the past is the past. I cannot bring back my family and I cannot go back in time and change my mind to do what I did. The Third Hokage and Danzo are dead. The age of the Uchiha Massacre is a fading relic and those that created the mission are nearly all deceased. There are only two remaining Uchihas, and two remaining members of the Council that created the mission. Our paths do not intersect and that it all I can ask for. I love my village more than I hate what they did to me."

"I see. Does it haunt you, though? Being so close to your family?" Itachi shook his head.

"It does not. While this may seem callous, I have understood and come to terms with what I did fourteen years ago. I always wish for forgiveness for what I did, and I know I killed innocent people that day- children, babies, members of the Clan who knew nothing about the uprising- but I also killed those who were traitors to Konoha. My parents were definite traitors. While I would not say that they deserved to die, they were punishable by law, and that punishment was death. My parents, and those of the rebel faction, also knew that they may be betrayed or killed. They never expected it to be me, the Uchiha Clan Heir, but I did what was necessary to protect this village. I did what I thought was best for the village and for the other hundreds of innocents that would be killed should a civil war erupt in the village, and consequently, a Fourth Shinobi World War."

"I understand," Tsunade told him. "Itachi, I am willing to do whatever you wish in this situation. Kami knows Konoha owes you anything you want. You are one of our most prized shinobi, as Arata and as Itachi, and whatever you wish for, just ask."

"What do you have in mind, Tsunade-sama? What type of options are you suggesting?"

"Do you wish for your name to be cleared and the truth revealed without damaging your clan's name? Do you wish to keep your new identity and all go back to how it has been for the past seven months? Do you wish to be known as Itachi and revealed as a hero, without the information of your past revealed? Do you want all the access to the Uchiha Clan funds, which have been frozen since Sasuke left the village? Do you want to begin rebuilding the Uchiha Clan Compound and restart the Uchiha Clan, reclaiming your position as Clan Head? I'm willing to work with you on anything you desire, Itachi." Itachi thought for a few seconds, finally shaking his head.

"I appreciate all your offers, Tsunade-sama. I think I would eventually love to reveal my true identity and the truth about my sins, without damaging the Uchiha's name, in the years to come, thus eventually reclaiming my title as Head, and rebuilding the Uchiha Clan... but not yet. As of now, I'd simply like to have my brother back and for everything to go back to normal. Sasuke can continue to access the Uchiha Clan funds, though I would like a report of the funds every month once he returns. I would still like to be referred to as Arata Genji and to continue everything as it has been for the last seven months."

"Understood. When you ever want to reveal everything, let me know, and we will together on it. Or, if it is when Naruto is Hokage, he will work with you."

"Definitely, believe it!" Sakura grinned, shaking her head, while Itachi nodded his thanks at them.

"So, Sakura and Itachi, now that we know the truth about you two, do you wish to keep it a secret between only you two, or do you wish to tell anyone else? I can be vague to most of the village as to why I'm releasing Sasuke. However, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Shikaku... the upper ranking people will wish to know the real reason. I leave it up to you if we tell anyone else the truth. It can stay just between us four, or we can tell whoever else you wish."

"We definitely don't want to tell the Council anything at all," Sakura spoke up quickly, glancing at Itachi, who nodded in agreement. "They will likely try to kill us both and we obviously don't want that. I'll let Itachi choose if he wants to tell anyone else; it affects him more than it does me."

"Itachi?" The man in question sighed, obviously hesitating.

"I do not wish to give out so much information, but I do feel that some people have the right to know the truth. Sasuke's team deserves to know the truth. Shikamaru should know the truth, as well. Hinata and Neji both know there is something off about me, but I hesitate on telling too many people."

"Of course. The more we tell, the more likely the secret will get out into the village. I understand. Ultimately, it is up to you, Itachi."

"I think I would like to do a joint meeting when Sasuke has been released," he finally said.

"Of course. Who would you like in the meeting?" Itachi looked at Sakura, both trying to deem who they wanted in the meeting.

"I'd like Kakashi-sensei and Sai," Sakura told them. "And Shizune, because I'd like her help with the revival jutsu."

"I feel it would be okay to have Neji and Hinata in the meeting, as well. They are both aware that I have some type of dojutsu, though they know not what it is. Shikamaru should also be informed, since he is a part of Naruto's council." Itachi and Sakura looked at one another. "That should be enough."

"That's fine with me. All right, when I announce Sasuke's return to the village, immediately upon him being freed, I will call a meeting with those people and Sasuke, as well as you two, and Naruto." All three nodded their consent. "With that, I believe everyone is dismissed. Sakura, you have to work tonight, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, just making sure. I will call a meeting with everyone tomorrow after I have talked to Sasuke and released him. I will send out a message for each of you in the morning; be prepared. We will be going over this story, and the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre." The three ninjas nodded. "Naruto, stay behind; we're still not finished with your training for today. Itachi, Sakura, you two are dismissed." Both bowed, exiting, though before they opened the door, Tsunade said one more thing.

"Sakura, I'm extremely pleased with what you used your jutsu for. You made the right choice. Itachi, I'm glad to have you back within our ranks. I hope we can mend the previous wrongs done to you. That is my goal, and I'm sure Sakura's as well."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama. My loyalties have never changed- I will serve Konoha faithfully until the day I die." Tsunade nodded.

"I know you will. You both will." They nodded once more and finally left the room, heading back towards their house.

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><p>Itachi reclined on Sakura's bed while she changed into her medical outfit in her closet. Both were still heatedly discussing what to do with Sasuke once he was out of prison.<p>

"He can always live with Naruto," Sakura responded, pulling on her skirt. She could see Itachi's frown in the mirror on her closet door. "What? They are best friends."

"I'm his brother, Sakura. I'd like to live with him." She frowned, understanding his implications. Her chest twisted with the idea that Itachi may move out.

"Of course. Well, let's just wait until tomorrow and talk it over with him. We'll figure something out." She came out of her closet, buttoning up her top. "You know I always want to keep you here with me." Grinning, she crawled onto the bed with him, straddling his hips. His eyebrows raised, while his hands found her hips, holding her on top of him.

"You know I don't want to leave you either, Sakura." She nodded, leaning down and resting her head on his chest. "We'll work it out." One of his hands found its way to her head, softly stroking her pink tresses. "Your hair is getting long."

"I know. I need to cut it. I usually keep it at my shoulders, if not shorter. But it's already down to my shoulder blades. It's much too long." Itachi gave a soft smile, continuing to play with her hair. "Do you like long hair or short hair?"

"It's never much mattered to me. But if I had to choose, probably short hair. All the Uchiha women had long hair, and I never liked them." Sakura let one of her fingers trace circles on his chest. "But your hair is fine, no matter what it looks like."

"Well, I only love you because your hair is long," Sakura responded, grinning. Itachi rolled his eyes at her taunt, knowing she was simply teasing him.

"You love me, huh?" he responded with. Sakura raised her head, resting her forehead against his.

"Something like that, I'd say," she told him, leaning down and kissing him. At first, the kiss was simple. But the longer they kissed, the more passionate it became. Eventually, their tongues found each other, and they began to nibble on the other's lips. It was with great reluctance when Sakura finally broke apart from him, panting.

"I have to go to work," she muttered. He nodded, laying his head back on her bed. "I don't want to go."

"I know that. It's fine." Sakura nodded, getting off of her new boyfriend, and straightening her skirt.

"It's funny; I don't feel like much has changed between us," she muttered, running a hand through her tousled locks. "I mean besides the physical intimacy. Which, by the way, was always there somewhere. I mean, how many times have you seen me naked or washed me? And I've seen your body inside and out, quite frankly." Sakura shrugged, taking one more look in the mirror to make sure she didn't look like she had just spent fifteen minutes making-out with her boyfriend. Pleased with her appearance, she turned back to Itachi. "Do me a favor, will you? Heiwa needs to be walked for a little bit. And make sure you let him out tonight, okay?"

"Sure," Itachi responded, not bothering to get off of her bed.

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She leaned back over him, kissing him briefly. "I enjoy this," she told him softly.

"I bet you do. Don't overwork yourself tonight. You're not going to get much sleep before Tsunade calls for us." Sakura nodded.

"I know. I'll try my best. I'll see you later." With that, Itachi's pink-headed girlfriend slipped out of her window, dashing across rooftops to the hospital.

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><p>"The patient is stabilized. Tell his team that they can see him as soon as he is moved into his new room." The nurse nodded, dashing off. Sakura sighed, leaning against the wall, trying to ignore her blood-covered hands.<p>

It was never a good night at the hospital without some type of crisis. She had decided that long ago. If things were peaceful, it just meant something was going to go even more wrong the next night. Still, night shift wasn't as bad as the day shift could be. Less patients to deal with at night, less nurses to keep on task, and less check-ups to deal with. However, there was a considerable amount of more emergencies at night.

Sakura knew she was lucky that she only got called to deal with the most difficult of these emergencies. If she were like the other nurses, she would be working her butt off all night from the little emergencies- wounded hand, broken leg, fractured rib. Though, a long time ago, she had been one of those nurses.

"Just gotta work your way up the ranks," Sakura murmured to herself, walking back to her office. "Darn it, I still need to wash off this blood." Sakura took a sharp turn down one of the hallways, heading towards a bathroom. As she was walking down the silent corridor, she heard the softest footsteps behind her. Frowning, keeping her chakra steady, she continued to walk, listening intently to the steps. They were obviously a ninja, and a skilled one at that. Whoever the person was, their chakra was perfectly masked. Their footfalls were hardly audible.

Sakura slowed to a stop, acting as if she were picking up something on the floor. The footsteps stopped; suspiciously, Sakura waited a few more seconds. There was definitely someone there- she would not deny her shinobi senses. But who was foolish enough to try and attack her in her own village, in her own hospital? No matter, this enemy had no idea what they were dealing with when they decided to step into _her_ hospital. No one ever harmed her patients.

She whirled around and bounded towards the area she knew the ninja to be. Her fist was raised, glowing with chakra, but it was for naught when someone grabbed her fist, spinning her around. Shocked at the shinobi's skills, Sakura retaliated with a swift kick. Again, the ninja dodged, jumping out of her reach. She looked around, trying to spot the elusive shadow, slowly realizing she was not dealing with any normal shinobi. A presence behind her alerted her that the ninja had reappeared; Sakura jumped away from the arm that was coming at her.

Sakura formed chakra scalpels at her hands, lashing out. Again, the shadow deftly avoided her attacks, smooth and fluidly. The person moved like a cat- Sakura was stunned at the grace they had. She had never seen someone move so gracefully besides people like Itachi, Neji, Sai, or Kakashi. And if she was fighting someone at that skill level... well, Sakura wasn't sure she would be able to win. Her eyes flickered down to her left side, where she knew underneath her medical uniform, a bright crimson seal lined her skin. There was _always_ the option of summoning Itachi to her. That was what the seal was for, after all.

A swift punch was delivered to her chest, and Sakura reacted quickly, bending backwards to avoid the outstretched arm. Really, though, this person moved so familiarly. It almost was like she was fighting Itachi. But, that couldn't be. Itachi was at home- Sakura paused, checking their chakra bond.

She shook her head, laughing.

"Really, Arata? Is this your idea of date or a romantic getaway? Sparring?" The shadowed form stepped into the light, while Sakura rolled her eyes at Itachi's antics. "You really must be bored since Tsunade-sama put you on that lull from missions because of Naruto's wedding. I think this is the longest you've ever been in the village. No wonder you're so antsy to spar. But in the hospital?"

"I just wanted to confirm that your security was sufficient." That drew a glower from Sakura, who huffed in indignation at the idea that someone would doubt her hospital policies. "It is... decent, but it could be superbly better." A frown crossed her face, and she crossed her bloodied arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay then, well, why don't you write me up a report on how to improve the hospital policies?" Sakura poked him in the chest. "Shouldn't you be in bed, anyways? It's like almost midnight."

"I thought I would come and visit you." She rolled her eyes, giving him a wave to follow her. Still, a smile lined her face as she walked down the hallway to wash her hands in one of the bathrooms. Being so late at night, Sakura waved Itachi in to follow her in the bathroom, not caring he was entering the woman's bathroom. No one was in there, as Sakura has assumed, and she was able to scrub her hands in the bathroom.

"Besides checking hospital security, what did you really want?" Sakura asked him, looking at him in the mirror. "There is something bothering you to make you come here at night." Itachi gave a non-audible sigh, leaning against one of the sinks.

"Yes. I have been bothered by something." Sakura nodded, wiping her wet hands on a paper towel. "What will happen after we have released Sasuke into the village? I fear the Council's interference. They, I am sure, will find a way to delve into our secrets. And I worry for Sasuke and what will be said about him."

"Sasuke has to deal with the rumors and whispers of the villagers. That is part of his punishment. Look at how many people whispered about you when you arrived here, thinking you were Itachi reincarnated. Granted, they may have been on to something, but nonetheless, you dealt with it fine."

"I worry about Sasuke. I worry about you." Sakura smiled, shaking her head.

"Everything will work out, I promise. And I'm fine, Itachi." His eyebrows raised, and Sakura gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. "I'm becoming too comfortable, Arata. But it should be okay. There shouldn't be any nurses around. Most are asleep or making the rounds. No one should be around here. This is an isolated hallway. They shouldn't have heard my slip up." Sakura shook her head. "Anyways, I know you've been concerned about me ever since that mission a few weeks ago."

"Yes, I have been. I know you've been trying to forget about it, but you still thrash around at night from nightmares. I can hear it." Sakura looked away, nodding. "Before anything happens with Sasuke, I want to know how you're holding up. You've tried to lock yourself away in your work and with the wedding. Sakura, did you ever check the damage that man did on you?" Sakura looked down, nodding mutely.

"I healed any damage done to me. It wasn't anything much. And I'll be fine for when Sasuke is released." Itachi nodded lightly, while Sakura gripped the sink, looking down. "I know it did some damaging effects on my mental state. But I'm working on it, okay? The missions with Takamiya, as well as that seduction mission... both were more emotionally taxing than I expected, but it's okay. I'm strong and stuff like that can't get me down. I refuse to let those types of things bother me anymore. I'm done with crying over past events that I can't do anything about. I can't change the past, but I can change the future, so there is no point in feeling upset about what has happened." Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder, giving Sakura enough comfort to loosen her white-knuckled grip on the porcelain sink.

"If you're sure, then I will respect you. Shall we head back to your office?" Sakura smiled, understanding that neither of them really wanted to be alone that night.

"Yeah. Let's go." She grinned and nudged him in the ribs. "You can help me with my paper work. If you're gonna stay, I'm going to put you to work!"

* * *

><p>Sakura winced, hearing the tapping of a beak on her window. She was tired- the night at the hospital had been long, even if it was enjoyable with Itachi's company- and it was early in the morning. Tsunade's messenger bird tapped once more, deciding it had sufficiently gotten Sakura to wake, and then flew away.<p>

"Sakura, we need to leave," Itachi called from outside her door. Sakura groaned in response, but dutifully got up, quickly stripping off her pajamas and pulling on her shorts, skirt, and red shirt. She grabbed a brush and her forehead protector-headband, brushing her hair as she exited her room. Itachi had already went downstairs, and she found him holding out a muffin for her to eat, already having his shoes on and ready to go.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking the muffin, then sliding on her own shoes, and then tying her forehead protector around the top of her head. Sakura took a bite, yawning, and nodded, signifying she was ready to leave. Both shinobi exited the house, locking the door behind them, and took to the rooftops, dashing across the village to the Hokage Tower.

"Not too many people are out yet. That must mean that Sasuke's release hasn't been announced publicly," Sakura muttered, scanning their surroundings. Itachi nodded, his shoulders tensing at the mention of his brother and what was to come.

They made it to the Tower, and taking a deep breath, Sakura led the way inside to Tsunade's office. They knocked twice and entered, finding Naruto, Shizune, Sai, and Kakashi already inside. Tsunade, though, was not in the room.

"You're on time, Sensei?" Sakura quipped, grinning. Kakashi gave a nod, giving a half-smile. All could feel the tension in the room, which dampened the usually lighthearted mood from Team Seven.

"We're still waiting for Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata," Shizune informed them. They nodded, and Sakura fell back beside Naruto, feeling her palms begin to sweat. Even Naruto looked nervous and tense, his ever present smile missing from his face. Itachi slid beside Sakura, though stood more towards the shadows in the room. Across from them, leaning against the wall, was Sai. Beside the window was Kakashi, while Shizune stood next to Tsunade's desk. They all waited in smothering silence. A few minutes later, Neji and Hinata walked in, shortly followed by Shikamaru. Hinata stood beside Neji, who stood beside Sai. Shikamaru took a place on the other wall, across from Kakashi, and all the shinobi in the room waited for Tsunade to appear.

No one spoke, the atmosphere much too heavy for conversation. It was as if everyone in the room knew what was going to happen, despite the fact that only Naruto, Sakura, Itachi, and Tsunade knew what was really occurring.

The door opened, Tsunade finally entering. Behind her trailed Sasuke. No one made a sound. Sasuke walked to the middle of the room, standing and waiting, his body tense. Tsunade made a few hand signs, soundproofing the room. She went and sat behind her desk, lacing her fingers together on her desk.

"We have much to talk about," Tsunade began. "You all have been selected and handpicked to know the real truth about a dark secret of Konoha's past. And how this ties to Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. I will preamble this speech by saying this- if you speak _**one**_ word of this outside of this room, there will be _dire_ consequences. Most importantly, you must _never_ speak to the Council about what we are going to discuss. Do you understand? You nine are some of my most trusted ninja and we believe that you deserve to know the real truth about why Sasuke is being released from prison. Like I said before, you are not allowed to explain why he's been released and what changed his mind. Any questions so far?" The shinobi remained silent. Tsunade nodded, taking that as the cue that no one had any questions.

"Good. Then I will begin with the fact that everything you know about the Uchiha Massacre is a lie." That got a few wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "The Council, with strong influence from Danzo, ordered Itachi Uchiha to kill his clan under the pretense that the Uchiha Clan was planning to overthrow the village. While there is truth in the fact that Uchiha Clan was planning something, there was never enough attempts to work something out between the village and the Uchiha Clan. Danzo, a long time enemy of the Uchiha Clan, influenced the Council to send Itachi, a loyal Konoha shinobi, to massacre his clan. Itachi was able to be punished by death if he did not complete his mission. The Third Hokage signed the document, meaning that Itachi had to do it."

"He couldn't have refused?" Hinata asked. "There was nothing he could do?"

"Itachi did all he could," Tsunade told them. "Itachi is not to be blamed for what happened. Keep in mind, he was only thirteen at the time of this mission. And in respect to him and Sasuke, I am withholding some information and the details of the mission. But I can promise this, the entire time, Itachi had the forefront of the village's, and his little brother's, safety on his mind. This is the reason Sasuke was spared in the Massacre- because Itachi could not bring himself to kill the person he cared most about."

"Why are you telling us this, Tsunade-sama?" Neji asked her, frowning at the revelation. Tsunade closed her eyes.

"This all ties back with Sakura, Arata, and Sasuke," she told them. Everyone shifted their eyes onto Sakura and Itachi. "I don't even know where to start. So, I'm just going to start from the next part of the story- as in, flash forward to after Itachi died and the Fourth Shinobi World War ended. We're going to pick up this story at where Sakura comes in." And from there, Tsunade explained Sakura's revival jutsu, vaguely explained how Sakura found out the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and then found Itachi's body.

"Sakura took back Itachi's body and revived it over the span of five months."

"So Arata is..." Shizune began, her eyes snapping onto the face of Arata. Slowly, all the other shinobi in the room turned to look at the silent Itachi-clone standing in the corner.

"That explains why you move identically to Itachi," Kakashi began.

"And the strange chakra around your eyes," Neji continued.

"And the high intellect and why you're an amazing shinobi," Shikamaru put in.

"As well as why Sakura was so protective of you and forceful to prove why you _weren't_ Itachi Uchiha," Shizune finished. Tsunade nodded, while Sakura took a step closer to Itachi, almost protectively.

"And really, Sakura had the perfect defense. Itachi was dead; we all knew that. Naruto confirmed it since he fought against and with Itachi during the Fourth World War. The combined Team Eight and Team Seven also confirmed, for the most part, the death of Itachi, considering the fact that they arrived at the battlefield right after his death. Sasuke confirmed Itachi's death when he fought against Team Seven. There was no doubt that Itachi Uchiha was dead. Who would have ever imagined that Sakura was making a revival jutsu? Who would have ever suspected that it _worked_? So, even though it was so obvious that Arata was Itachi, we all knew that he couldn't be because Itachi was dead." Everyone nodded, while Tsunade leaned back into her chair, sighing.

"If we had known the truth, we would have been suspicious, of course. Not that we all weren't suspicious before-hand, but Sakura did the right thing by protecting the truth of Itachi's identity from everyone. Now, considering the fact that Itachi has been here seven months as a loyal Konoha shinobi, becoming friends with many of you... well, who doesn't trust him? And with the revelation of the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre... Again, who wouldn't trust him?" Everyone nodded, confirming their belief in Itachi and Sakura.

"So, now to explain why this all relates to Sasuke and why I'm actually telling you all this." Tsunade launched into the explanation of Itachi's talk with Sasuke, and how he and Sakura convinced Sasuke to rejoin the village. "Last night, I spoke to Sasuke to confirm this. We still must place restrictions on Sasuke, which is partly why all of you are in here, considering most of you are my most trusted ninja. But, as to explain why we picked specifically you all to hear this truth; Sakura and Itachi picked you, actually, but for legitimate reasons." Tsunade's eyes flickered to Neji and Hinata.

"For you two, you guys were the original ones to test Arata. You both saw Arata's strange dojutsu and his fighting style. Furthermore, you both are personal friends of both Sakura and Itachi. Not only this, but Neji tends to be one of Itachi's typical partners on ANBU." Both Hyuugas nodded. "Shizune, Sakura requested that you know the truth so that you can help review the revival jutsu with us. Shikamaru, as part of Naruto's upcoming council, and one of the tacticians of the village, should also know the truth. And, of course, Team Seven is privileged to know anything about Sasuke." Tsunade laced her fingers together, looking at all the shinobi in the room slowly. "Furthermore, though this was not one of their reasons, I feel that if there were ever another great conflict like the one with the Uchiha Clan and the Council, it would be you all to stay true to the village and the correct ideals of the village. As in, you would not side with the one against your values. I trust you all to keep the village safe, but by doing it the noble way, and not something underhanded and dirty like massacring an entire clan."

"But why aren't we explaining this to all of the Rookie Eleven?" Hinata asked. Sakura stepped forward, deciding to answer for Tsunade.

"We would love to. I'd love to tell Ino, Tenten, Lee... all of them. But we have to keep this as quiet as possible. To us, we know that Hinata and Neji both knew enough of Itachi's abilities and could see his chakra pattern to suspicion who he really was. If you two hadn't seen his abilities before, we wouldn't have had you in here. We're simply trying to keep the suspicion down and the truth only between us. If there is a time when we need to tell more people, then the Rookie Eleven would be the first to be told. But right now, let's see how this goes over with just telling you guys." Everyone nodded again, understanding Sakura's logic.

Tsunade cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention again. She gestured towards Sasuke. "We still must decide what to do with him. Sasuke does express interest in being reinstated as a Konoha shinobi, but he must be given a probation period. We also must figure out what would be a sufficient story to tell the public."

"That's easy," Shikamaru spoke up. "Tell them that Naruto and Sakura convinced Sasuke to change; say it was sparked on from Naruto's wedding in a few days. That is extremely believable." Tsunade nodded slowly, grinning.

"That's the type of easy solution I love hearing. All right, now, Sasuke, what would you like?" Sasuke, who had remained silent during the entire meeting, finally looked up, meeting Tsunade's eyes.

"I don't care. Do what you must." Tsunade nodded, her eyes never wavering on the almost pitiful form of Sasuke.

"Your Sharingan will be disabled for a year. You will stay on house arrest for at least three months, meaning you will mostly stay in a house, but for a few hours every day, you may explore the village as long as someone is with you. Your chakra will be disabled for this three month period, meaning no jutsus. You will be stuck in the village for six months, given small missions. If there are no problems after six months, you will be allowed to take missions outside the village. You may participate in the next chuunin exam, and eventually jounin exam. Unlike your brother, I'm not going to instantly promote you. You must work up the ranks. After all, technically, you're still a genin." Tsunade smirked at this. "If there are any problems- as in fighting, arguments, or anything of the sort, you will be placed back in prison, or at least given a longer punishment. You may spar with Naruto and others, but at any point, the Konoha shinobi have permission to subdue you if they think you are getting out of hand. Again, under no circumstance are you allowed to access your Sharingan for at least a year. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"Very good. Now, you must have a place to live. You can have your own place and I'll place ANBU guards on you. You can live with Naruto, at least for the few days before he marries Hinata. Or did you have something else in mind?"

"I'd like to live with Itachi," Sasuke replied easily, looking up at Itachi. Sakura swallowed hard, feeling dread pool in her stomach. She remembered Itachi's interest in living with Sasuke- surely, there was no doubt that Itachi would move out to stay with his younger brother.

"That is acceptable. With Itachi living with you, you would not need an ANBU guard, except for when Itachi is on a mission. Itachi, is this acceptable?" Sakura unconsciously held her breath. She didn't want Itachi to move out of her house. She couldn't imagine coming home and not seeing him there. He'd been in her house for over a year, and seven months actually living with her. To see her roommate leave her so suddenly... Sakura closed her eyes, wondering what she could do to change Itachi's mind.

No, that wasn't right. She knew Itachi should live with Sasuke. It made more sense that way. The brothers needed to mend their relationship, and if there was anyone that could keep Sasuke on track, it was Itachi.

Still, she couldn't imagine being parted from Itachi. If only Sasuke could live with Itachi and Itachi still live with her. But, that would mean Sasuke moving in with them. Sakura winced, wondering if she could handle living with Sasuke. At the same time, she didn't want to make Itachi choose between living with her or with Sasuke. Couldn't she sacrifice and let Sasuke live with them? It couldn't be _that _bad, right?

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, I am currently living with Sakura. I do not have another location as to where Sasuke could live with me. Furthermore, I do not wish to part from Sakura. We have our own agreement going on, and I made a commitment to live with her until further notice." Sasuke looked down, his shoulders slumping slightly. Sakura closed her eyes again, biting her lip.

"I understand. We can provide Sasuke with a house and have ANBU guard him-"

"Wait, Tsunade-sama," Sakura interjected, swallowing hard. "Sasuke can live with us. It'll work out better that way. Itachi and I can both watch Sasuke, and since I'm around, I can check to make sure his Sharingan is always disabled. Furthermore, I have the ability to subdue him if need be." Tsunade smiled lightly, nodding.

"Objections, Itachi, Sasuke?"

"None," Sasuke responded. Itachi hesitated, looking down at Sakura.

"Are you sure? You don't have an extra bedroom, and I know how you feel..." Itachi's quiet voice trailed off as Sakura shook her head.

"The couch is comfy, and we can expand the house to make a new room for him. Please, it's fine, Itachi." Itachi gave Sakura one final hard look, checking to see if she was hesitating, but eventually nodded, giving a small smile, thanking her.

"No objections, then, Tsunade-sama," Itachi replied.

"Then it is settled. Sasuke, you will be living with Sakura and Itachi until further notice. On that note, Sasuke, you must use 'Arata' in public when referring to Itachi. His identity is still a secret and must remain that way. That goes for everyone here. Got it?" Simultaneous nods answered her question. "All right, I know I've given everyone a lot of information. But at least now everyone knows the truth. We must keep this all a secret. If anyone asks you why Sasuke was released, you are to recite the same story I will be telling the public. Under no circumstance are you to _ever_ hint that Arata and Itachi are one in the same." Again, everyone nodded. Tsunade pursed her lips, nodding again. Sighing, she reached down and brought out a bottle of sake and a cup. Tsunade poured herself a drink, speaking while she poured.

"Sasuke, Itachi has agreed to let you have the Uchiha funds at your need again; however, he will be receiving monthly reports on the state of the funds. Remember, now with the death of your father, Itachi is technically the Uchiha Clan Head. Therefore, he does have total control of the affairs of the Uchiha, even if he cannot do it publicly. With saying this, the two of you will have to work together to deal with the affairs of the clan. Technically, Itachi has final say on all affairs. Publicly, though, Sasuke will be seen as Uchiha Clan Head." Both men nodded. "I believe I've said everything that needs to be said. Sakura, I expect weekly reports on the status of Sasuke's behavior. Sasuke," Tsunade took a drink of sake, leveling Sasuke with a stern glare, "your friends have put a lot of faith and work into getting you out of prison and away from the death penalty. I will not be so forgiving if you blow all their love to you. With this, everyone is dismissed."

The ninjas nodded, opening the door and slipping out. Team Seven and Itachi waited for Sasuke outside the door, wondering if they could take him out into public yet or not. He eventually walked out, nodding to his old team.

"Let's celebrate at Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto told them, looping at arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "Because you're finally out of prison, teme!" Sasuke stiffened at Naruto's arm, his mouth tightening, but he did not shove Naruto off of him. Grinning, Naruto snagged Itachi, pulling the man beside him. He looped his other arm around Itachi's shoulders, even if Itachi was a good three inches taller than him. Much like Sasuke, Itachi tensed, but did not do anything to shove Naruto away from him.

Grinning, Sakura hung back, walking with Kakashi and Sai.

"It looks like our team expanded," Sakura giggled. Kakashi offered a smile and a small, "humm" in response, while Sai said nothing. "That's okay, though. It'll take Sasuke a while to learn our team dynamic. But finally Naruto can beat someone up and I won't care. I can have you all to myself, Sai," Sakura poked the silent man in the ribs, smiling.

"I was Sasuke's replacement. Now that he is back, am I still apart of your team?" Sakura's eyes widened and she gripped Sai's arm, stopping him in his tracks. He looked at her serious expression curiously, though his face remained mostly blank.

"Sai, you are a part of Team Seven just as much as anyone else. If you want to leave, I'll drag you back quicker than you can blink!" She reached out and hugged him, smiling when he returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her back. "Sasuke cannot replace you and you can't replace Sasuke. Both of you are two different people and we love you both equally, okay? You can't leave our team ever, because once you're a part of Team Seven, you're always a part of it. So don't even think you're leaving us!" Sai smiled back, a soft genuine smile, and he patted Sakura's back.

"Thank you, Hag." She huffed, pulling away from him, glaring. "Despite how ugly you are, you're still a good friend." Sakura slid back to walking beside Sai and Kakashi, a slight smile lining her face.

"Sakura, back when I confronted you about your obsession, your obsession at the time was Itachi, wasn't it?" Sakura nodded.

"I was knee-deep in my research when you confronted me. I already had him in my home, slowly examining his disease. I was petrified you knew the truth, but when you promised to give me space, I figured I had a few more months to complete my jutsu. You never brought it back up to me, but I figured you were watching me closely."

"You hid it very well, all in all. I never suspected you to be reviving and experimenting on dead people."

"Person, Kakashi-sensei. I only ever experimented on Itachi, and it was a success." She was a bit clipped in her response; Kakashi realized he must have hit a nerve of some sort in his temperamental female student. "I don't want to be compared to Orochimaru. _He_ experimented on dead bodies. I only wanted to revive Itachi."

"I'm not comparing you to Orochimaru, Sakura. You're nothing like him." He was a bit surprised that Sakura had a secret fear of being compared to Orochimaru. He wasn't expecting Sakura to compare herself to the crazed man who tried to find immortality.

But then again, he realized that Orochimaru had performed similar obsessive quests like Sakura, and furthermore, Orochimaru had a history of finding and experimenting on dead bodies. Possibly, Sakura saw herself turning into something like him in years to come.

"You won't become anything like him, either, Sakura. You two are radically different in your motives. Orochimaru wanted power; you want to save people. You're not a selfish person, Sakura, while he was." She remained silent, mulling over Kakashi's words. Finally, she smiled, nodding.

"Thanks sensei; I needed to hear that." Sakura glanced up, looking up at the quickly approaching ramen stand. "C'mon, let's go celebrate. And this celebration will be one of the best yet! Sasuke's finally back!"

* * *

><p>The stares were piercing, and the whispers were annoying, but Sasuke seemed to shrug them off. It probably helped his case, though, since Sakura (Konoha's beautiful sweetheart), Naruto (Konoha's handsome hero), Arata (Konoha's sexy heartthrob), Sai (Konoha's brooding hottie), Kakashi (Konoha's mysterious gentleman), Hinata (Konoha's shy beauty), and Neji (Konoha's too-hot-to-touch genius) were constantly glaring away those that dared whispered a little too loudly towards Sasuke.<p>

Despite the fact that Sasuke had only been released from prison that morning, by five o'clock at night, Konoha was bustling with excitement at the news. But the excitement wasn't necessarily all good- no, once the Council got word of Sasuke's release, there was an uproar. Breathless, it was Shizune that told them how the Council had kicked her out of Tsunade's office to yell at the Hokage. Shizune warned them to stay with Sasuke because the Council would surely single him out.

That had been over an hour ago. Now, those in the meeting from that morning (excluding Shikamaru, who was doing something with Ino and Chouji) were all walking with Sasuke towards Sakura's home. They had spent half the day walking around Konoha, and then the other half at the final wedding rehearsal (Itachi had taken Sasuke away to spend some time along at the park while the rest of the group went to the rehearsal). After the rehearsal, the group (now including Hinata and Neji- the rest of the wedding rehearsal group had went their separate ways) went back to Ichiraku Ramen to eat, and then continued to walk around Konoha, finally heading towards Sakura's home.

"Where is Sasuke-teme going to sleep, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her, trying to distract the subject away from the slowly growing apprehension at the Council's impending visit. Sakura shrugged, glancing over at Sasuke and Itachi.

"Well, the couch is very comfy, but..." she hesitated, biting her lip. "Well, my bed is big enough for two, so I was figuring that-"

"NO WAY, Sakura-chan! You can't let Sasuke-teme sleep with you already!" Sakura grit her teeth, slamming her fist into the side of Naruto's head, sending him flying across the road. He crashed into a fence, the wood piling on top of him.

"IDIOT! HE'S NOT SLEEPING WITH ME!" Sakura howled, her nostrils flaring. "I meant Arata."

"Oh." Naruto rubbed the knots on his head, squinting his eyes at her in confusion. "But why would you offer him your bed, and not Sasuke?" Sakura rolled her eyes, sliding in front of Itachi.

"Don't you ever share your bed with Hinata?" Sakura retorted.

"Well, yeah, but we're getting married, Sakura-chan. ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED TO HIM?" Naruto jumped up, pointing his finger at her and then Itachi. Her fist clenched again, and Sakura swung at him. Naruto jumped out of the way, but Sakura didn't relent, bringing up her knee into his stomach. He clenched his torso, falling into a fetal position on the ground. "Owwww. Sakuuuuraaaaa-chaaaaan," Naruto whined.

"No, we're not getting married. But..." she looked back at Itachi, silently asking his permission to speak about their new relationship. He shrugged. "Well, we are dating, finally." Naruto's face was perplexed, his eyes shifting between the two of them.

"Why would you date _her_, Arata?" Naruto finally asked, a small smirk developing. Sakura looked at his grinning face, and snapped, charging at him and pummeling him into the ground.

"What's so wrong with me, huh?" she screeched, giving Naruto a face full of fist.

"Nothing, Sakura-chan! Nothing! Oh, that's not what I meant! Arata is lucky to have yo~ooouuuu!"

"Geez, dobe, getting beaten by a girl." Sakura stiffened, turning her head slowly towards Sasuke, dropping Naruto's bloodied head back to the ground.

"What's so wrong with girls, Sasuke?" Sakura asked dangerously. Sasuke caught the tone, and held his hands up defensively. "I'll beat you into the ground just like him."

"She can, too, little brother." Sasuke shook his head, while Sakura grinned. The mood had lightened considerably, and Sakura began healing Naruto, laughing as he began to retell a story about Tsunade and one of his training sessions. The group continued walking down the street, laughing at Naruto's stories.

"And so then, I'm like, 'No, Tsunade-sama, I didn't mean that you look old, just that if you didn't have your jutsu, you would be old. Why are you cracking your knuckles?' and she beat me to the ground, just like Sakura-chan always does! Women are so sensitive about their age..." Naruto trailed off, his jovial face turning serious. Sakura glanced at the rest of the group, seeing all of them wearing similar sober faces. She turned her head and saw what they all saw- Homura and Koharu walking towards them.

Sakura had never liked the Councilors before, but after knowing what they had done to Itachi, she had hated them. And seeing their glowering faces aimed towards Sasuke, she knew her hatred was not going to diminish anytime soon.

"How do you guys want to do this?" Sakura muttered, moving protectively towards Sasuke.

"We'll face it head on, like any other problem," Naruto responded. She nodded, taking a deep breath. Their group continued to walk towards the two elder Councilors, bracing themselves.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Koharu began. The group stopped in front of them. Sakura and Naruto stood on either side of Sasuke, while Itachi stood behind Sakura and Sasuke, as did Kakashi and Neji. Sai stood on the other side of Sakura, and Hinata stood on the other side of Naruto. Their group made a type of triangle shape as they faced off against the Konoha Council.

"Your release from prison was not approved by us," Koharu continued, her nose upturned at him. "We are demanding that you are put away, considering the fact that you are still a dangerous criminal."

"What does Tsunade-sama say about this?" Sakura interjected, moving closer to Sasuke. Homura and Koharu glared at the outspoken woman.

"She is adamant that he is a changed man, but there is no possible way for that. Once a traitor, always a traitor. And the Uchihas have always been trouble for our village. It's better that you don't come back, Uchiha."

"Hey, hey, Sasuke did exactly what he was supposed to. He's agreed to his sentence and to become a Konoha shinobi again!" Naruto told them. Their eyes shifted to the blonde boy.

"I would not speak, Naruto. Your position holds on a dangerous thread, ready to snap at any moment. If you want to be the sixth Hokage, you would be well to remember that we have part of that vote to put you into that position. We can take it away from you at any time." Naruto's mouth clenched, and he glared. They had never used the threat of taking away his promised position on him. "After all, it looks bad on the village that our upcoming Hokage has had a part in freeing a dangerous international criminal, and furthermore, is parading around town with said criminal."

"How dare you! You can't take Naruto's position away from him! And you can't put Sasuke back away, either!" Sakura stepped in front of both boys, her eyes blazing at the two elders. "Tsunade-sama has ultimate control on these matters, and therefore you cannot send Sasuke back to prison without a warrant signed by Tsunade-sama. You also cannot revoke Naruto's position without Tsunade-sama's seal and without the approval from all the Konoha leaders. So, if you can get Hiashi Hyuuga, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shibi Aburame, Azuren Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake to sign for Naruto's removal, then I'll step aside. And, as a further thought, once Sasuke is reinstated as a Konoha shinobi, since he is the technical Head of the Uchiha Clan, one of Konoha's noble clans, you'll have to get his approval, too." Sakura smirked. The two Councilors turned red in the face at Sakura's statement.

"Sakura Haruno, you would do well to hold your tongue," Homura told her. Sakura crossed her her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Just because you are Tsunade's pupil does not give you the authority to disrespect us like you are. We can have you thrown out of the hospital and your rank stripped." Sakura grinned, taking up their challenge.

"Oh, really? Then go ahead. I'll move to Suna. I'm sure Gaara would be thrilled to have the number one medic in the world at his beck and call." If it was possible to have a purple face, Homura and Koharu had achieved it.

"It seems you have also been trained in your teacher's rudeness and disrespect to authority. Young lady, I would not be so confident in everything you say." Sakura opened her mouth to respond but Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

"Enough, Sakura," Itachi told her. "We are done speaking now, Koharu-sama and Homura-sama. We need to take Sasuke home."

"We are not finished, Arata. We understand that Sasuke is living with Sakura; we will not allow it. We are placing Sasuke into his own home where our own ANBU will guard him." Sakura glanced up at Itachi, seeing his eyes flash and darken. She swore that he must have been switching to his Sharingan.

"I also live with Sakura; Sasuke is fine under my care, unless you believe I cannot take care of Sasuke?"

"You are involved with Sakura, who is an ally of Sasuke. Therefore, it also makes you an ally of Sasuke. We are taking Sasuke out of your custody." Sakura saw the miniscule tensing of Itachi's muscles, and she knew that Itachi was trying his best to hold down his temper. But she knew that Itachi would not let anyone get between him and his brother- Itachi had defied the village once before on behalf his brother; he would surely do it again.

"I strongly suggest you keep Sasuke with us- we are the most capable of keeping control of him."

"No. We have made our decision. Sasuke will be placed under our chosen care." Itachi went to protest, but Kakashi stepped forward, cutting him off.

"With all due respect, honorable Council, due to the fact that we have not heard otherwise from Tsunade-sama, we will be staying with our original plans and taking Sasuke to live with Sakura and Arata. These two are both highly qualified to deal with Sasuke and will not allow him to do anything against his probation, which is possibly why you don't want him to go with them. Either way, we will be taking our leave of you now. Excuse us." Kakashi sent a few swift glances towards Sai and Neji, who stepped up and to the sides of Sasuke, blocking him from the Council. Naruto and Sakura stood in front of Sasuke, also protecting him. Hinata and Itachi stood on the other sides of him, and Kakashi led the entire group away from Homura and Koharu.

Both of the Council members growled, but let them walk away, subdued from Kakashi's dismissal. No one said anything until they had arrived at Sakura and Itachi's home.

"We need to watch out for the Council. They are not going to let us go that easily. Don't let them ever get Sasuke alone; they will do anything to provoke him. They want you dead, Sasuke, understand? Everyone be on your guard." The group nodded. "Have a good night, everyone. Sakura, Arata, be careful. You too, Naruto. You three are on the Council's list. I'll check on you guys tomorrow. Ah, farewell." One by one, the rest of the team dispersed, eventually leaving only Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Itachi.

"It's good to have you back, Sasuke," Naruto told him softly. "Even if there are problems with it. Still, we'll work it out. I'll see you all tomorrow." Sakura nodded, reaching down to hug Naruto. He returned her hug, and nodded goodbye to Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi gave him a small wave, while Sasuke nodded in response.

Standing on the porch, Sakura opened the door, gesturing for Sasuke to enter first.

"Welcome to your new home, Sasuke. The bathroom is upstairs, the couch is to your left, the kitchen to your right, and we all take turns washing dishes and we split the bills. You can discuss with your brother where you want to sleep- either the couch, or he can sleep with me and you can have his bed. Whatever you two want. I get first dibs on the shower; Itachi, you know where the sheets and blankets are, so I'll let you set Sasuke up with everything. You two can share clothes until I get enough time to take you shopping." Sasuke nodded, taking a few tentative steps inside, and looking around. "Go ahead and explore; I have a dog named Heiwa, and you're allowed to eat or read anything, as long as you put the books back and don't eat everything in the fridge." Sakura and Itachi stood towards the side, watching as Sasuke nodded, taking in her surroundings.

"Thank you, Sakura. For doing all of this for me. For us." Sakura nodded, giving a gentle smile.

"You're welcome, Sasuke. Anything to help ease the wrong the village has done. As I said, though, welcome to your new home. I'm sure we will all be able to get along just fine; right Itachi?"

"Yes. Little brother, let me show you around." Sasuke nodded, and though there was still some sort of awkward, gentle-coaching atmosphere, all of them could feel the underlying joy of having been reunited.

"Yeah. I might as well know my new home," Sasuke said.

_Home is where the heart is,_ Sakura thought, smiling as she watched to two brothers exit the hallway.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I'm again sorry about the delay. Here are a few things I did want to mention in this chapter, though.<p>

1_. _I mention a whole list of people that have to approve Naruto as the sixth Hokage. All of them are real, except one- Azuren Sarutobi. I made the first name up, but it would technically be a legitimate person/position in the Naruto-verse. He is intended to be Konohamaru's father, Asuma's brother, and the Third Hokage's son. All those clans I named, I figure were some of the most important clans in the village that would have the most influence on any crucial decisions.

2. I tried to make it as clear as possible as to one: why Itachi and Sakura decided to tell others besides Tsunade and Naruto; and two: why they chose the people they did. To make sure everyone understands- they told those certain people the truth about as to Itachi's identity because they knew they needed some allies when Sasuke was released. If the people closest to Naruto (like Hinata) didn't know the entire truth (and they would know that Sasuke wasn't released from prison because of Naruto's wedding) they wouldn't support the decision. With so much other opposition, Sakura and Itachi knew they needed what allies they could find to help ease the other Rookie Eleven to their side. Furthermore, they chose Hinata and Neji because the two had been the ones to initially test Itachi; same with Kakashi; and Shikamaru, not only as part of Naruto's council, but as one of the smartest shinobi in the village would be an asset to their side. I hope this all makes sense!

Okay, I think that's everything.

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>_

_Naruto's wedding is practically overshadowed with Sasuke's release from prison. Adapting to the village will not be easy for the boy, especially with the Council watching his every move. Itachi and Sakura are there too, trying to help Sasuke find his place in a village that is not all too forgiving of his past sins. _

_**Next Chapter: United**_

Everyone is united... in more ways than one.

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><p>Thanks for reading! I apologize for the delay. I hope next chapter is out in a more timely manner. Though, I suppose I should warn everyone now, the updates are going to become slower. I've nearly caught up with my written chapters. I'm still writing Chapter Eighteen, and I'm supposed to update Chapter Seventeen this weekend. :O<p>

On a completely other note, I met Brad Swaile at a convention this past weekend. He's the voice actor of Light Yagami, from Death Note. Nicest guy ever. He was so cute. He took two pictures with me, and gave me a hug. And called me "sweetheart"! :D Best day ever.


	17. Chapter 17: United

I've been trying to upload this chapter all night, and _finally_ Fanfiction let me access my profile. Because it's nearly time for me to go to bed, and I wanted to post this chapter tonight, I didn't re-read this chapter (it's soooo freaking long, too!) and make any final edits in Document Manager. So, tell me if there is some glaring mistake. I hope I've caught them all on previous edits. :O

On another note, I apologize for not responding to any reviews last chapter. I've been absolutely awful at that. I'm so sorry :(

Now, one last thing, please remember the M warning on this story! Cause this chapter needs it :) Just throwing that out there. Oh, and try to pay attention to month names and dates. This chapter takes place over a long span of time and I try to give out what month it is, so you can keep track of the time. So, just as a reminder, when this chapter begins, it's September 15th in the story. :) All right, now please read and review~

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><p><span>Chapter Seventeen:<span>_ United_

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><p>"Sasuke said he'd take the couch," Itachi told her, leaning against the wall. "I don't think he was comfortable with the idea of us sleeping together." Sakura laughed, glancing over at the bathroom door where Sasuke was now taking a shower. "He is very grateful, Sakura. <em>I'm<em> very grateful for what you did."

"Itachi, I knew this would be the best for you two. Well, actually, it probably would have been better for your relationship if you two lived together alone, but..." Sakura shrugged, sighing. "It is what it is." Sakura huffed, and wrapped her arms around herself, leaning back into her door frame. "A few years ago, I would have been so happy for this day. But it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore," her half-smile was melancholy. "Tomorrow is Naruto and Hinata's wedding. It almost feels like it's been forgotten with Sasuke being released."

"It'll just be even bigger with Sasuke there. He'll have to borrow some of my dress clothes." Sakura nodded again, looking away. "Sakura, there is something bothering you. Is it Sasuke?"

"It's everything. It's the Council; it's the wedding tomorrow; it's Sasuke; it's our relationship... it's everything, Itachi. I just don't know..." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I don't know anything anymore. I'm apprehensive about what's going to happen in the future. Maybe it's just been too much stress for these past few days." Itachi nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We're in this together, no matter what happens. I am always on your side." Sakura smiled at him, interlacing her fingers with his. It was at this moment that Sasuke walked out of the bathroom. He made a loud gagging sound, making Sakura and Itachi laugh, embarrassed at being caught.

Itachi nudged his little brother, gesturing for Sasuke to follow him downstairs. "We've got to get up early tomorrow. Let's go to bed." Sasuke nodded, turning back to tell Sakura goodnight. She responded softly, but her former teammate and love heard her.

Sakura waited until both men were out of her sight, and then slumped down her door frame. She swallowed hard, wondering what she had gotten herself into with ever getting Sasuke out of prison.

Still, seeing Naruto's smile... seeing Itachi's smile... even seeing Sasuke's smile... It was worth whatever was going to happen to them.

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><p>"You're perfect, Hinata," Sakura told her. Hinata smiled, smoothing down the beautiful ivory dress. The bodice was embroidered with black beads, and it hugged her curves stunningly. The skirt was covered with a sheer material, looping around the full skirt in tiers. Her delicate silver sandals laced up her feet, but the hem of her dress hid her heeled shoes. Sheer sleeves looped around her upper arm, off of her shoulders, holding the dress up.<p>

To accent the dress, Hinata wore a stunning diamond and onyx yin-yang shaped pendant around her neck, with matching earrings dangling from her ears. Her long indigo hair was pulled up into a elegant twist, special clips matching her earrings and necklace placed along the side of her scalp. On the opposite side from her clips, she had strands of hair curled and spiraled, trailing along her cheeks. Her make-up was flawless, bringing out her stunning facial features. All in all, Sakura had never seen her friend looking prettier.

"Naruto is one lucky man," Ino told Hinata, whistling.

"You all look wonderful, too," Hinata whispered, reverting to her old shy self. Sakura had noted that whenever Hinata was nervous, she would become shy again, even if she had gained confidence and a voice over the past five years.

"I know we do," Ino responded haughtily, grinning, "but this isn't about us. Chin up, Hinata. Smile. Remember that you are the most beautiful thing here today, okay?" Hinata nodded, smiling.

All of the girls looked pretty- no where near as pretty as Hinata, but still beautiful in their own right. Ino's orange dress went down to her knees, though there was a slit that went up to her thigh. Like all the bridesmaids dresses, Ino's dress was light and flowy, with a tiered skirt that fell along the slit. There was a darker orange ribbon belt that sat underneath her breasts, while the top of the dress cut down into a soft v-cut, with two thin spaghetti straps holding up the dress. Much like Hinata, Ino also wore silver heeled sandals. She had pulled back her blonde hair, clipping it at the back and letting it flow down her shoulders. Ino had added silver dangling earrings, a matching silver necklace, and a silver bracelet for her accessories.

Tenten was also wearing an orange, flowy dress. Her skirt fell down in layers, ending below her knees. A shiny, orange belt wrapped around her waist, accentuating her figure. The dress had no sleeves, and curved into a soft heart-shape at the top of her breasts. She wore shoes that matched Ino's, as well as matching accessories. As for her hair, she had it in her traditional double-bun style, except with orange ribbons wrapped around the buns, the ends of the ribbons falling down in spirals along Tenten's face.

Finally was Sakura, the only one in a yellow dress. Her poofy skirt ended above her knees, a matching yellow ribbon wrapped several times around her waist. There were small flowers adorning the hem of her skirt, and the top of her dress was exactly like Tenten's with a soft heart-shape form. Her shoes were silver sandals, and she wore the same silver jewelry like the other girls. Sakura left her hair mostly alone, besides replacing her shinobi headband with a regular yellow-silver headband.

"Here, Hinata, let me adjust your necklace. It's off-center." Sakura reached over, gripping the thin chain lightly. Just as she was settling the pendant in place, there was a swift knock on the door. Tenten opened it, and spoke lowly to the man on the other side of the door. She nodded once, and closed the door, turning to the girls.

"Neji tells me everyone is ready to start. Hiashi is ready to walk you down the aisle. Are you ready?" Hinata nervously looked in the mirror, saw her beautiful reflection, and hesitantly nodded. Sakura gave her a comforting smile.

"Go do this thing, Hinata. It's your time to shine. This is your moment." Ino and Tenten surrounded Sakura and Hinata, smiling.

"Ready, little heiress?" Ino asked her. "Sakura is right. This is your moment. Cherish it." Hinata's smile became more real and bright, and she nodded once more, this time more assured of herself.

* * *

><p>"She did look stunning, didn't she?" Itachi and Sasuke both slowly nodded to Sakura's statement. "Did you see Naruto? I've never seen him happier." The look in the blue-eyed boy's face as he saw his bride-to-be was something unreal. His entire face lit up with a joy and pride at the fact that the stunning, ethereal woman walking down the aisle was truly his and loved him so much. "And then when you two were both there, in the front row, silently encouraging him. Naruto's never been happier."<p>

"Gaara and Killer B weren't happy to see me," Sasuke remarked carefully. Sakura looked at Sasuke, gently biting her lip.

"I know they weren't. But they didn't say anything against you. I think they understood something was going on, but they have enough foresight to leave it alone until need be. Naruto and Tsunade seemed to be at peace with you being there so they probably figured it was a Konoha matter." The three continued their way back home, hours after the wedding and reception had ended. It was dark outside, but it didn't bother the three shinobi, as they could easily navigate the dark streets of Konoha.

Sakura swung her sandals from her wrist, her bare feet soundlessly padding along the cement. "All in all, it was a good day. Everyone was happy, even Hiashi. And if Naruto and Hinata were happy, then we should all be happy, too."

"Of course," Itachi responded, his eyes looking at her swinging shoes distractedly. "Shouldn't you wear those? Your feet may get injured." Sakura shrugged, shaking her head.

"I'm tired of wearing heels. I'll just heal my feet if anything happens." The three continued their slow pace towards their home, keeping a comforting silence with one another. As they walked, light water droplets began to fall. Sakura reached up, touching her head, and felt another rain drop hit her hand.

"Ah, it's beginning to rain, isn't it?" she asked, frowning as she looked down at her dress. "I hope it doesn't ruin our clothes. These are so ni-" A shrill scream cut off Sakura's statement. All three shinobi tensed, looking in the direction of the scream. It was a woman's scream, coming from a few blocks away. Sakura looked back at her companions and waved them to follow her. She took off at a run, the other two easily following her pace.

Sakura navigated the streets, eventually beginning to dash through alley ways to get to where she had heard the scream. Itachi and Sasuke followed behind her, letting her lead. The screamer had not screamed again, but the highly trained shinobi could hear the sounds of a struggle. Itachi pointed down a few streets, to which Sakura nodded, taking off towards the dark alley way he pointed at. Before the three got there, Sakura gestured for Itachi to take to the roof tops, for Sasuke to stand where he was to catch them should they escape, and that Sakura would block off the entry way. The three nodded, and did what Sakura asked.

She padded slowly to the entry way, unconsciously drawing chakra to her fist, while her other hand held her shoes together. The rain had finally picked up and was now falling at a constant rate. Sakura ignored it, finally standing in the entrance to the alley way. There was a man, possibly a shinobi, trapping a young woman to the wall. He had his hand down her top, and the woman was crying, struggling against him. Sakura had no pity for rapists, and was almost willing to smash the guy's face in right then.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sakura called, walking in closer. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Sasuke move in closer to her. She mentally smiled, knowing he was doing it to protect her. Not that she needed protection, of course, but the gesture was kind. "Let the girl go."

"We're just messing around," the man told her, withdrawing his hand from the woman's top, but keeping her arms pinned above her head. "No harm done."

"I beg to differ. It looks like you're about to rape her. I suggest you let go of her." Sakura walked in closer.

"No, no; no rape here. Right?" The man's swift glance made the woman underneath him pale, and she hesitated, not sure what to say. By the looks of it, the woman was a civilian being taken advantage of by a shinobi. If Sakura had to guess the man's rank, it would probably be a chuunin or jounin, but she wasn't sure. It only churned more hate in Sakura's stomach.

"Taking advantage of a civilian girl? You should have more class as a shinobi. We're here to protect civilians, not use our power to harm them. Let go of her now, before I harm you." That got the shinobi's attention, and he finally turned to Sakura, glaring.

"Okay, little miss self-righteous, who do you think you are? Once I finish you off, I'll do the same to you as I was to her!"

"How cliché," Sakura responded. "And please, there is no way you can defeat me." The man charged at her, Sakura effortlessly avoided, slamming her fist into the man's side. He flew into the side of the alley way, moaning. "I didn't even crack a rib, don't be a baby. I do worse damage to my team."

"W-who are you?" The man groaned, trying to stand back up.

"Sakura Haruno. Arata, come take this man. Sasuke, come help me with the girl."

"Sakura Haruno. _The_ Sakura Haruno?" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yes, the one and only. And maybe you've heard of my friends before? This is Arata Genji, and this is Sasuke Uchiha." The man paled considerably, and shrunk back. "Yeah, rough night, huh? You just happened to go to the wrong area, I guess." Sakura sighed and shrugged. Itachi appeared by Sakura's side, glaring down at the man. "Sasuke and I will escort her to the hospital, or to her home if she prefers, and you can take him to jail?"

"Yes." Itachi easily made a chakra rope and tied the man's hands tightly behind his back. The shinobi made no struggle against Itachi, since he knew he could not beat the legendary shinobi. While ANBU identities were not usually known, and Arata was no exception (no one, besides Sakura and Tsunade, knew that Arata was Black Cat), there was enough knowledge in the village to know that Arata was one of the strongest ninjas and one of Tsunade's trusted shinobi.

Itachi took off with the man, leaving Sakura and Sasuke with the woman. Sakura knelt down to the woman, smiling gently. "Hey, was he able to do anything?" The woman shook her head, wiping her tears. "Would you like to go to the hospital? Or I can check you here? Or we can walk you home? The hospital does offer trauma counseling; I'd recommend it after something like this."

"N-no, I'll be fine. Thank you so much, Sakura-sama. Y-you too, Uchiha-san." The woman adverted her eyes when looking at Sasuke.

"May I walk you home?" The woman hesitated, but finally nodded. "Can I check you over real quick?" Sakura placed a glowing hand on the woman's arm, not waiting for an answer. She let her chakra scan the woman, and finding nothing wrong, she smiled, withdrawing her hand. "You seem to be okay. Come with me." They walked quickly to the woman's house and within a few minutes, they had dropped the woman off and were heading back home.

It was when they were nearly to Sakura's home that Sasuke spoke up.

"Sakura, you know I can't use chakra." Sakura looked at him, heading up the stairs to her door. She faced the door, slowly nodding. "But you still took me with you to possibly fight that man. What could I have done?" Sakura's hand stalled on her door handle, while the rain fell around them.

"Give yourself more credit, Sasuke," she whispered. "You're not weak, even if you can't access your chakra for three more months. Your taijutsu is superb, with or without chakra. You could have easily knocked that guy out if you needed to." Sasuke reached out, grabbing her shoulder, turning her to face him.

"Sakura, I know you're not exactly thrilled to see me. Ever since I returned, you've been different." Sakura took a deep breath, adverting her eyes. She nodded slowly, biting her lip.

"I _loved_ you, Sasuke. You don't understand how much I loved you. I only wanted you to be happy. But you went beyond a painful rejection... again, and again, and again. You tried to kill me." She closed her eyes. "Yes, I don't know how to feel around you. I don't know how to treat you. I'm _trying_, Sasuke. Kami knows I'm trying my best to make everything return to normal. But it's _hard._ I want to hate you, I want to love you, I want to punch you, I want to hug you. I don't know what I want anymore. But I do know that you're key for Naruto and Itachi's happiness, so that's why I want to do what I can to go back to being friends, okay?" Sasuke stared hard at the green-eyed woman, while she returned his hard glance.

"Then as long as we don't dance around this anymore, Sakura."

"I'm not dancing around anything, Sasuke." The two nodded, not really having reached an agreement, but both had reached an understanding of some sort. "We'll work things out as time goes on. That's all we can do." He nodded, slowly dropping his arm from her shoulder. She took a deep breath, turned around, and unlocked her door. "Let's go get changed. We're soaked."

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><p>Sakura smiled at her nurses, ignoring their strange and timid looks and fervent blushes. She continued on her path, nodding her greetings to all her patients and nurses. Still, they returned her kind greetings with hesitant smiles and awkward silences. It was strange, of course, considering that all her nurses and patients would have usually stopped to talk to her about the latest tid-bit of gossip, or patient, or nurse, or something. But everything was unusually silent and tense as Sakura walked along to her office. That, still, did not bother her.<p>

After all, it wasn't like she was the reason for the awkward silences. It was because of the person trailing behind her, his hands shoved in his pockets, and his glower scaring away even the bravest of nurses.

"You could try to be a little more friendly, Sasuke," Sakura chirped, smiling at another nurse. It wasn't her fault that Sasuke had to be taken to work with her. Someone had to watch him and both Naruto and Itachi were on a mission. Kakashi was going to watch him, but something came up, and Sakura didn't feel right leaving him with Sai. So that left her. Still, in the entire month and a half he had been out of prison, she was figuring it was only time before he came to work with her. It was almost like a bring-your-child to work day, except for the fact that Sasuke was her age, and an ex-criminal. But, she wasn't complaining (too much).

Sakura walked into her office, seeing a stack of folders, as per usual. Gesturing to Sasuke to sit across from her desk, Sakura sat down and began reading her patient files. Sasuke chose to browse around her room, curiously flipping through some of her books.

"It looks like I'm seeing Hanabi, Genma, and a few others. Follow me?" Sakura asked lightly, smiling. Sasuke shrugged, nodding. The two made their way out of the room, Sasuke dutifully following the pink-haired hospital director around. Most of the time, Sasuke stood outside of the room while Sakura checked on the patient. Everything seemed to be a routine check-up, and from what Sasuke could tell, Sakura was not doing anything strenuous. There were no emergencies, and the two were even able to leave the hospital to go out for lunch. All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty decent day.

But, of course, nothing could ever be easy for a member of Team Seven. It was exactly 2:27 when all hell broke loose in the hospital.

"No, Sasuke, there is no way I could do that, it would be impossible-" Sakura was cut off of her idle conversation with Sasuke when her office door slammed open.

"Emergency, Sakura-sama! An ANBU team has been rushed in! We're going to lose them!" Sakura gave a swift glance to Sasuke, wondering what she could do with him, until she finally shrugged.

"Let's go, Sasuke," Sakura called, rushing out of the room, knowing he would follow her. He kept up with her brisk pace easily, and listened carefully as she ushered out hurried instructions to him. "You're going to have to stay in the emergency room with me; stay in the farthest corner out of everyone's way. I can't leave you outside of my sight for too many hours, or else I risk you getting in trouble. It'll be fine, come on." Sasuke was pulled inside the hectic emergency room, and he carefully moved to the farthest wall from the doctors and patients.

At first, he thought he would be bored. But this was the first time he was truly seeing Sakura's medical skills since she had acquired them nearly ten years ago. He watched intently, amazed at the woman in front of him. The pinkette that issued out steady orders to her carefully trained staff did not seem to be the same girl that would practically collapse at the sight of anyone wounded from before.

The same woman that was easily healing up a man's gaping chest wound, did not seem to be the same useless girl from his team that constantly needed rescued. This same woman that could easily place her hand on a struggling shinobi's neck and knock them out without any effort, did not seem to be the same girl he had knocked out cold and left on a bench the day he left Konoha. This calm, composed, and highly efficient medical kunoichi did not resemble the annoying, emotional, love-struck girl that had plagued him since his childhood.

Sasuke now understood why his brother was attracted to her. He understood what Itachi saw in this woman, because he saw it too. Watching Sakura heal was amazing- there was something calming in seeing her. She had such a soothing presence, in such a crazy hell surrounding her, that it was like looking at a guardian angel. Her motions were fluid and graceful, her face was serious and serene, and there was no trace of fear or nerves. She was in her element and she was confident about it. She didn't even think for a second the men in front of her would die, when Sasuke knew from their wounds that they were assuredly life-threatening.

Having been on a team with a healer, Karin, he was surprised to see how effortlessly Sakura healed. Karin could never have done what she was doing- for one, Karin would have likely panicked at the sight of so much blood. But not once had Sakura flinched; she simply did her duty and saved lives.

He understood, now. He understood so clearly why she was so offended when he had insinuated she had never changed. Because she _had _changed. Sakura had changed so radically that Sasuke could not even fathom that this woman was the same girl on his team when he was twelve. There was a prowess about her that he had never encountered before- a gentleness and sternness and kindness...

Yes, no wonder his brother fell in love with Sakura. Because, really, who _wouldn't_ fall in love with her? His brother was one lucky man, there was no doubt about that.

So lost in his musings, he didn't even realized she was finished until she was in front of him, smiling and waving her hand in front of his face.

"Come on, let's go home," Sakura told him, pulling off the bloodied latex gloves. "Hopefully Arata is home and is making us some dinner! Let's go, Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, following the cheerful medic out. She was practically glowing, and he knew it was because she had just saved more lives. Even though, he watched as she tripped and he reached out to steady her, her chakra was severely depleted. Sasuke braced her against his shoulder, keeping an arm around her waist to keep her upright.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I must have used more chakra that I thought."

"You should watch your reserves more carefully," Sasuke admonished, though he didn't really mean anything negative by it. In the past, he would have been annoyed to have to help her. But, he didn't feel annoyed- instead, he was rather impressed at her ability and skill. More or less, she had single-handedly saved those ANBU members lives. That was enough to gain his respect.

No, Sakura wasn't nearly as annoying as he had once thought. She had changed considerably, and he was okay with it. He realized he was finally ready to let her and Naruto back into his life like they had always wanted. Because everyone had moved on and had grown up and had changed. He needed to do the same, too.

* * *

><p>It was surprising how quickly time could pass them by. Sakura had expected everything to be painful and awkward with Sasuke living with them. But it wasn't. Sakura was expecting the Council to make some sort of moves towards Sasuke, but they hadn't. Sakura was expecting something, anything, bad to happen, and it hadn't.<p>

Instead, Sasuke was easily falling into a routine in Konoha. He stayed home with Itachi when Itachi had no missions, or stayed with Naruto on some days, and often came to work with Sakura at the hospital. He wasn't frustrating or obnoxious to be around; no, it was the opposite. He was warming up to them- to Naruto, to Sakura, to Itachi, to Kakashi, to Hinata, to Sai.

Sakura couldn't hate him anymore. She had rekindled her friendship for Sasuke, and was glad about it. She, Itachi, and Sasuke would all go out and train in the mornings; Sasuke without chakra would be forced to train in taijutsu; and usually, twice or more a week, Sakura would drag Sasuke along to the Team Seven training sessions. He couldn't spar heavily with the rest of the team, but he was quickly picking up on their maneuvers and even being included in some new ones.

Truly, Sasuke was back. That was all there was to it. It was as if everything Sakura and Naruto had ever wanted had come true. Sasuke was back with them, finally a part of Team Seven again, and this time, he had no revenge floating over his head. He was free to be who he wanted.

As for Sasuke and Itachi's relationship... Well, it had gotten smoother, that was for sure. The brothers were becoming close, especially with as much time as they spent together. Konoha couldn't figure out why Arata Genji had taken a special interest in Sasuke Uchiha, but eventually, it was deemed that Tsunade had simply assigned the man to watch out for Sasuke.

There was only one difficulty in the three months since Sasuke had started living with Itachi and Sakura. Simply put, he was like a third-wheel on their relationship. Considering the fact that Sakura and Itachi had officially begun dating a day before Sasuke moved in with them, they hadn't been able to progress their relationship very far. The only thing that had changed was the fact that Sasuke now slept in Itachi's old room, while Itachi slept with Sakura.

And by slept, she literally meant slept. There was no intimacy increase in their relationship because Sasuke was always there. And Sasuke had shinobi ears, meaning he could hear the lightest of whispers between Itachi and Sakura during the night. There was no way that the two of them would ever be doing anymore more than a simple kiss with Sasuke in the house. Both thought it was rude, distasteful, and sleazy for them to have any extreme intimacy when they knew Sasuke could hear it. So, occasionally when Sasuke was out with Naruto, Itachi would sneak into the hospital with Sakura and they might kiss heavily. Or if they were home alone, they might make-out. But that was all they had done in the three months of dating.

It wasn't a bad thing, but Sakura couldn't deny the sexual tension growing between them the longer they slept together. Sakura, after all, only slept in her short biker shorts and a baggy T-shirt, while Itachi slept in lose fitting sweatpants, and usually no shirt. Pressed so close together in bed... well, it had created some lust-inducing situations for both of them. But there was nothing to be done about it, at least not with Sasuke around. They would have to wait for him to get his own missions. Which would hopefully be soon.

"Sasuke! Come on, rise and shine!" Sakura called, slamming open Sasuke's door. "C'mon, Naruto is already here! It's the big day!" Sasuke groaned, pulling a blanket over his head. Pounding footsteps were heard coming up the stairs, and Sakura grinned, stepping out of the way. Naruto bounded in the room, jumping on Sasuke in his bed.

"Oof! Dobe!" Sasuke grunted, looking up at his best friend. Sakura laughed, looking over as Itachi joined her side.

"Teme, it's the big day! Come on, get up! I want to go noooooow!" Sasuke groaned, trying to shove Naruto off of him. "Sai and Kakashi-sensei are downstairs waiting. Let's gooooo, Sasuke. Come on! Come on!" Sasuke shoved Naruto off of him, getting up, groaning. "Today is the day, Teme!"

"I know, I know. But for goodness sakes, Naruto, it's barely seven o'clock in the morning."

"Yeah, well, the sooner we get you to Tsunade, the sooner we can get a mission and can train and everything else! Let's go!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm, tugging him out of the room. Laughing, Sakura stopped the blonde-haired man, shaking her head.

"Naruto, he's got to get dressed first. Sasuke, we'll be waiting for you downstairs. If you don't hurry, I'll make Itachi hurry you up." Sasuke gave a sideways glance to his older brother, understanding the hidden threat that Sakura had made. Itachi was never kind in waking people up- no, if anything, his brother was downright _cruel_ in getting people to hurry. Sasuke could still remember the few times that Itachi had become frustrated at him as a child when Sasuke was moving too slowly, and so his older brother had decided to speed him up with the aid of a fire jutsu. Or his brother's other favorite- throwing kunai so close to the target that they can feel the blade scrape their face. That had made Sasuke have nightmares for weeks as a child.

"I'll be down in five minutes," Sasuke responded. The three nodded, leaving Sasuke alone. Exactly four minutes and fifty-eight seconds later (because Naruto was keeping careful track, as was Itachi), Sasuke made it down stairs.

"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist. The group shuffled out, Sakura and Naruto both having an exuberant bounce in their step as they dragged Sasuke towards Tsunade's office. Itachi, Kakashi, and Sai followed behind the three original members of Team Seven, watching as Sasuke resigned to his fate of being forcibly pulled down the streets of Konoha.

There was no way to stop Naruto from bursting into Tsunade's room. Tsunade rolled her eyes, looking up expectantly at her blonde protégé. It was no surprise that Naruto was in her office, with his best friend behind him being tugged towards her. She sighed, placing down her pen and pushing away her scrolls.

"It is that day, isn't it? Come here, Sasuke. Sakura, want to help?" Both walked up beside the Fifth Hokage, while she stood up to face Sasuke. "You've done much better adapting to Konoha; better than I expected. I commend you for that. Because of your success in re-adapting, I have no problem in removing your chakra suppressors. As of today, Sasuke Uchiha, you will regain the ability to use your chakra, as well as be officially reinstated as a Konoha shinobi, though you will still not be able to leave the village." Sasuke nodded. Tsunade smiled and nodded to Sakura; both women placed their hands on Sasuke and concentrated. A pale green glow surrounded Sasuke; ten minutes later, the glow faded and the women withdrew their hands.

"Do you feel any different, Teme?" Sasuke nodded, looking awestruck at his hand. It had been years since he had felt the full force of his chakra surging through his veins. It was a wonderful feeling.

"It feels... amazing," Sasuke told them, clenching his fist and then uncurling his fingers. "It's tingling every nerve and cell. I feel alive. Let's go train. I want to see what I can do."

"Sasuke, do remember one thing, though," Tsunade told him, stopping Team Seven in their tracks. "You cannot access your Sharingan. Under no circumstance are you allowed to access your Sharingan until your one year probation period is up. You still have nine months to go. All right, guys, go work Sasuke out to the bone." The team nodded, all echoing their thanks to Tsunade.

The subsequent training session was probably the best Sakura had ever experienced. Kakashi, Sai, Itachi, Naruto, Sasuke, and herself all sparred together. They decided to go to the outskirts of the village, in one of the larger training grounds, so that they could go all out.

It was intense. Sakura could dodge a fire jutsu from Sasuke, only to get hit in the back from a kick from Sai. In response, she could slam her hand into the ground, making Naruto stumble, thus giving Itachi enough time to hit the blonde with his own kick. And then Kakashi would appear behind Itachi, blasting the man with a water jutsu. While Kakashi was distracted, Sasuke could aim his fire jutsu towards him, while Sakura would have enough time to attack Sasuke.

The chains of attacks were insane. Sakura would flip over a tree branch, panting, waiting for Sai and Itachi to finish fighting. But Kakashi would spot her resting and attack. She would have to move again, going after Sasuke who was distracted with Naruto. There was a mixture of jutsus flying all over the field: Sai's paintings, the Uchihas' fire jutsus, Naruto's wind jutsus, Kakashi's electric jutsus, and Sakura's shatter-the-earth jutsus.

As it was, they had been training for over three hours. Sakura took a breath, leaning against a tree. Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke were sparring with each other, all seemingly deadlocked. Sai was amusing Kakashi with his painted animals. The five shinobi were truly one-of-a-kind, and outclassed her. They were hardly panting and didn't even seem to be showing any signs of fatigue.

Sakura frowned, hating the way she was thinking. She was a perfectly capable kunoichi. She could fight against the best of them. But really, these men were leagues above her. It almost made her want to hang her head in shame and go practice medical ninjutsu. On the flip side, it also made her want to go off on her own and train until she collapsed, just so she could defeat them.

But she was a medic. There was no way she could fight at their level. But... Sakura smirked, an idea blossoming in her head. She _was_ a medical ninja. She could do things to them that they couldn't even imagine. Why was she playing _their _game of jutsus and hand-to-hand combat? She had her own jutsus that could easily stop them all.

She might not be as strong as them, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be the last one standing. Sakura drew chakra to her hands, making carefully controlled chakra scalpels. Sakura decided the one that would see through her strategy first was Kakashi. Itachi would, too, but he was distracted by Naruto and Sasuke. He wouldn't have enough time to pay attention to what she was doing.

Sakura jumped into the tree, inching her way until she was a good way above Kakashi and could clearly see the training grounds. Sakura waited until Sai was able to hit Kakashi with his animals, and then dived off of the tree towards her sensei. She used a burst of chakra from her hand to brace her fall and push herself off of the ground towards him. Quickly, she used her scalpel to slice his nerves in his spinal cord, paralyzing him. It wasn't a hard cut to heal once the battle was over, and wouldn't do any permanent damage.

Kakashi looked at her with wide eyes, especially when he realized he could no longer move his body below his neck. Sakura grinned, looking over him. "Y-you..." She nodded at his statement, winking. She dashed towards Sai, who was looking inquisitively towards what she had done to Kakashi.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get close enough to Sai to paralyze him with her chakra scalpels, she began forming the hand seals for another jutsu. If she could simply touch Sai, she would be able to do what she needed.

Sai was expecting her to attack; he deflected her blows easily. Sakura tried to take a swipe at him, but the black-haired boy was able to kick her away from him. The two began to play a game that resembled tag- Sakura attacked and Sai dodged. She chased him around but he was able to avoid his her attacks.

Sakura had swung her fist at his face, growling as he ducked and kicked her in the stomach, when an explosion stopped Sai and Sakura's battle. Both dropped their attacks towards each other and looked over at the Uchiha brothers and Naruto.

Naruto had activated his Nine-tails chakra form and was glowing brightly, grinning as he formed a Rasengan. Itachi and Sasuke had teamed up to fight against the blonde warrior. Sakura turned to Sai and then back at Kakashi's limp form.

"Hey, how about a truce? These three are expecting to win; they don't even think we're worth battling. I say we each take one and beat them to the ground." Sakura looked at Kakashi and Sai. Sai smirked, nodding, while Kakashi agreed, if only to regain the use of his body. Sakura rushed over and healed him, slightly sad that all her hard work had went to waste.

"Sakura, you go after Naruto. He'll be hesitant to hit you and you can use that to your advantage. Sai, you go for Sasuke. I'll go after Itachi. Try to pit the three against each other- push them closer together, and then we'll surround them and defeat them from the outside." Sai and Sakura nodded at Kakashi's plan, deeming it well-thought out and worthwhile to accomplish.

The three broke apart, taking to the trees around their three other teammates. Kakashi nodded for Sakura to go first. Sakura flung herself from the tree, diving down at Naruto. Naruto, who was deflecting an attack from Sasuke, was unprepared for Sakura's swift kick to his shoulder. Naruto skidded into Sasuke.

At that moment, Sai fell from the air, delivering a roundhouse kick to Sasuke's chest. Itachi watched the two attack, and was prepared for Kakashi's surprise attack. He blocked Kakashi's move, and retaliated, kicking the white-haired man back.

Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi were still able to force the two Uchiha's and Naruto into a circle, where the three were back-to-back. Itachi and Sasuke were both able to see through Kakashi's plan and they did not attack one-another, instead aiming for those that would be weak against them. Itachi aimed for Sakura, Sasuke went after Kakashi, and Naruto eventually took Sai.

Itachi forced Sakura to the ground, smirking over her. He was surprised when she smirked back, seemingly unconcerned at their position.

"I've been like this too much," she told him. His eyes widened as she reared up and headbutted him, sending enough chakra to her forehead that sent him flying off of her. Grinning, she forced him onto the ground.

"Now who's on top, Itachi?"

* * *

><p>So, the spar was inconclusive. Sakura had topped Itachi (the highlight of her life, she figured) but Kakashi and Sai were at stalemates with Sasuke and Naruto. All in all, though, for Sasuke's first real spar in years, he had done really well. Sakura could only imagine how he would do once he got his Sharingan back.<p>

Sakura was simply thrilled, though, that Sasuke was finally going to go on missions again. He wasn't locked in her house for hours and hours now. He finally had free reign to roam around the village. Granted, he spent most of his time now at the training grounds, but it was better than him sticking with her.

In essence, it meant that she had a few hours alone with Itachi for the first time in months. Of course, out of the two weeks since Sasuke had received his chakra back, and the seventeen missions he had went on during that time, Sakura could only count three times that she and Itachi had even done anything together.

But this night would be different, Sakura decided. It was Sasuke's first over-night mission. He would be placed on guard outside of the Konoha Archive Library. It was one of the most mundane jobs in existence, but it would be good for Sasuke. He wouldn't be home until six o'clock the next morning. That meant Sakura and Itachi would have about eight hours to spend together all night. Factoring in six hours for sleep, they would have two hours to do whatever they wished together without interference from Sasuke.

Yeah, it was going to be a great night. Sakura made it home from the hospital early, excited to see Itachi home from his mission. Sasuke was preparing for his mission, and hardly paid Sakura or Itachi any mind. She grinned, taking a shower while Itachi prepared dinner. Her nerves tingled with excitement throughout the entire night, as she anticipated the moment that Sasuke would leave.

Ten o'clock came slowly; Sakura and Itachi were reading on her couch when Sasuke finally left. Both wished him good luck and told them they would see him the next day. Sasuke nodded, waving farewell. Sakura looked back down at her book, the words blurring beneath her eyes. She waited five more minutes for good measure before she hesitantly glanced at her boyfriend.

"We're all alone, Itachi," she whispered, smirking over the edge of her book. His eyes flickered to her, and he arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes we are," he agreed, his eyes turning back to his book. Sakura frowned, closing her book with a decisive snap. He ignored her. Her frown turned into a glower, and she crawled across her couch, leaning her head on his lap, looking up at him.

"You don't want to do anything?" she asked him, pouting. Itachi simply turned a page in response. Sakura rolled her eyes, letting her hand trail along his thigh. He still did not respond. Well, that wouldn't deter her. Her boyfriend may be playing hard-to-get, but this was going to be their night. Sasuke was finally gone, darn it! She was going to get some of Itachi if it was the last thing she did.

Sakura shifted onto him, straddling his waist. Itachi readjusted so that he was still reading the book, while accommodating Sakura on his lap. She leaned against his chest, trailing her hands up his shirt. His eyes flickered to hers, and there was a smirk growing on his face, but he went back to reading without acting on anything. That was fine with her, though, and she began to trail kisses up his neck.

Her nails slid down his chest, gently scraping his muscular torso. Her teeth nipped at his neck and shoulder, while she grindedher hips against his. Finally, that got a bit of a reaction out of her stoic boyfriend. He stalled in his reading, taking a shuddering breath.

"Sakura..." he warned, "I hope you know what you're doing." She grinned, pressing her lips to his. He let her kiss him, threading one of his hands into her hair. With his other hand, Sakura noticed, he marked his page, sitting his book aside. She grinned through their kiss, feeling triumphant that she had made him sit down the book and pay attention to her.

Their kiss evolved to where they were battling with their tongues; her hands were still underneath his shirt, while one of his was still in her hair, scraping against her scalp, and his other hand was inching its way up her shirt. She arched back, breaking their kiss, panting hard. She withdrew her hands from his shirt, instead placing them in his hair.

Itachi kissed her neck, licking and sucking. His hands went underneath her shirt, moving up underneath the fabric, his fingers dancing across her abs. Hesitantly, still kissing her neck, he cupped her breasts. Sakura gasped, closing her eyes, smiling. His thumbs stroked against the fabric of her bra (he was surprised not to feel the regular bindings that she tended to wear). He pulled away from her neck, kissing her lips again.

He broke apart to say, "If we do this..." She shushed him, placing a finger on his lips.

"No regrets, Itachi. I want to do this. I've wanted to do this for a long time. It's not physical; I want us to find out that sex can be used for more than just missions. That it can mean something, too." He nodded. Sakura took her shirt off, throwing it across the floor. She stood up long enough to remove her skirt, and watched as Itachi removed his own shirt and pants. Both of them couldn't help but let their eyes rove over each others body. Sakura crawled back on him, kissing him hotly.

He gently turned them around, so that Sakura was laying on the couch and he was hovering over her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning when he began to kiss her neck again. This time, his tongue and kisses made a pathway down her torso. He began at the hollow of her collarbone, moving down between her breasts, and down to her naval. He stopped at the hemline of her panties (panties that he noticed were a pale pink in color, but completely sensible in wear- they weren't lacy or uncomfortable looking).

She pulled herself closer to him, kissing him underneath his jaw. Her fingers skimmed down his back, and began toying with the edge of his boxers. Her fingers hooked underneath the edge and she gently tugged them down. Itachi slid his own fingers underneath her bra hooks, gently unclasping them. They broke apart long enough for him to rid her of the garment.

Itachi was kissing her again, slow and careful, while his fingers danced along her naval, dangerously trailing on the inside of her underwear. She rubbed her thighs against his hips, pressing her groin closer to his. He groaned audibly, and finally removed her underwear, tossing them in their pile of clothes across the room.

His fingers found slowly, hesitantly, went to the inside of her thighs, trailing up to her warmth. Her breath hitched when he pressed against the moist heat inside of her. His digits pressed and rubbed, making her arch closer to him. The slicker she became, the harder they both panted. Finally, he angled himself above her, ready to plunge in.

Both of their eyes widened and Itachi groaned, stopping before he could enter her. He rolled off of her, muttering something under his breath that not even Sakura could catch. Her ears thumped with the beat of her heart, while her lower belly twisted with desire. Itachi began dressing himself, sending a few glances to his still naked girlfriend on the couch.

As the knock to their door came, Itachi leaned over her, kissing her long and hard.

"I'm sorry. We'll do this again; I promise." She nodded, visibly deflated. "Sakura..."

"I know, I know. I'm not mad at you. I am mad at Tsunade, but I can't be mad at you. I'm frustrated." He nodded, kissing her forehead. The person at the door knocked again. "Go. Good luck on your mission." Itachi nodded, kissing her one last time, and finally walked across the room to answer the door. Sure enough, like they had sensed, it was an ANBU requesting Black Cat to suit up and be ready because there was another emergency and a chuunin team needed aid at the border. Itachi nodded and closed the door, rushing upstairs to dress in his uniform. Two minutes later, he was telling Sakura goodbye, and then leaving.

As the door shut, Sakura groaned. Slowly, she pulled herself off the couch, collecting her clothes. She walked upstairs to shower, bemoaning her fate at having a boyfriend who just happened to be the strongest ANBU Captain in the village. His missions truly did come at the worst possible moment.

So much for a great night.

* * *

><p>The crowd audibly gasped, watching as Sasuke kicked the genin away from him. The poor kid should have forfeited the match, instead of fighting the Uchiha prodigy. It was unfair. At least Sasuke was going reasonably easy on the boy. Still, Tsunade had a sick sense of humor placing a twenty-three year old man in the Chuunin Exams against thirteen year-old children. It was a slaughter.<p>

Sakura leaned on the rails of the stands, knowing the boy had suffered a broken rib or two from Sasuke's last kick. Hinata, Ino, Tenten, and Sai stood beside her, all watching the duel.

"He's slaughtering them," Ino spoke up, shaking her head. "This is ridiculous." Sakura nodded, almost wanting to cheer for the other boy simply because there was no way for him to beat Sasuke.

"Hopefully Tsunade-sama will end the match," Hinata spoke up. Sakura shook her head.

"I doubt it. She's probably evaluating the genin to see how well he fights against Sasuke. I mean, there is no doubt that he will easily defeat all of his competition. Sasuke is easily ANBU level. These kids are still genin. Sasuke's held his own against the freaking Raikage and Mizukage. And he defeated his own brother, who just happened to be an Akatsuki member and an ANBU Captain in his own right."

"A slaughter," Ino reiterated. With one more gentle kick (gentle for Sasuke's standards, that was), the small boy was knocked out. Genma declared Sasuke the winner of the match and allowed him to go back into the stands.

The Chuunin Exams had come faster than expected. Soon after Sasuke's first overnight mission, within the next week, Tsunade made sure he was signed up for the exams. The exams began a week before January, and as expected, Sasuke soared through the first two parts of the exam. Despite the fact that he had no team, and therefore should not have been able to even take the exam, Tsunade gave him special permission to do everything by himself. It would be harder, she said, but it was his choice. Sasuke refused to work with any other team, besides Team Seven, and agreed to take the exams alone. Even without his Sharingan, he flew through the exam.

His first test, a written exam, was easy enough for him. Even though when he had first taken the Chuunin Exams over ten years ago, he had struggled with the questions and had resorted to using his Sharingan to cheat, Sasuke had no need to use his Sharingan. He had gained enough knowledge that he was able to answer the majority of the questions, and at the end of the exam, there was a similar question posed about not being able to become a chuunin if they failed the question, or something like that. Either way, Sasuke got the last question correct and was promoted to the second stage of the exam.

The second test took place in the Forest of Death, as it usually did when the Chuunin Exams were held in Konoha. There was no scroll gathering; instead the groups had to survive for ten days with a plethora of nasty attacks in the forest. The attacks included fire, lack of food, poison attacks, squads of ninjas, and jutsu traps. Every shinobi was given a key to protect and if they lost that key, they would lose the exam. Or, if they willingly gave up, they would lose the exam. As expected, Sasuke passed with flying colors, considering the fact that he had lived on his own for years and years and survived in the wilderness.

The third exam, taking place one month later, was the tournament. They were in the final rounds of the tournament with only four people (including Sasuke) left to fight. There was one Sand shinobi, two Leaf shinobi, and one Cloud shinobi.

"So, where is your husband?" Ino asked Hinata, ignoring the fight between the Sand shinobi and the Cloud shinobi. Hinata pointed up to Tsunade, where Naruto sat beside her, looking serious as he focused on the fights. Beside Tsunade sat the Raikage, the Mizukage beside him, and on the other side of Naruto was Gaara. Only the Tsuchikage was not there (he had fallen ill shortly before the exams and was resting in bed).

"He's got to examine the fights. Tsunade-sama plans to appoint him as the Hokage soon. Like within this upcoming year."

"He'll be one of the youngest Hokages yet, won't he?" Tenten asked mildly. "I mean, he'll be... twenty-four?" Hinata nodded. "Pretty cool."

"Where's Neji, Tenten?" Ino asked. Tenten sighed at the mention of her boyfriend. "I figured he'd be here watching the exams."

"He is. He's up there with Arata somewhere, guarding. You know how the guard has become freaking intense since our first Chuunin Exams with the Sound invasion." Everyone nodded. Since then, any time Chuunin Exams were hosted in Konoha, nearly all ANBU and jounin were posted around the village, keeping careful guard.

"Kakashi-sensei is up there too, somewhere. Why aren't you guarding, Sai?"

"Who said I'm not?" he responded, smiling at Sakura. "I am on guard duty, Hag. I'm just guarding the stands. You four happened to be around my station, so I decided to sit with you." Sakura smiled, rolling her eyes. The sudden roar of the audience interrupted the five's conversation, so all five turned back to the battles. The Cloud shinobi was standing triumphant over the Sand shinobi. Genma declared him the winner and called for Sasuke and the other Leaf genin to come to the field again.

"Oh geez, Sasuke's going to beat one of our own," Sakura commented. "And it's a kunoichi." The genin kunoichi looked petrified of facing off with the illustrious Sasuke Uchiha. The purple-haired girl stood across from Sasuke, lowering herself into a fighting stance.

"Go easy on her, Sasuke!" Ino called. Sasuke turned towards them, and smirked. Sakura rolled her eyes at his smugness.

"Take him out, girl! You can do it!" Sakura cheered for the kunoichi. "Teach that smug bastard a lesson!" Leaning back to her friends, Sakura muttered, "She really can't beat him. But for goodness sakes, I want someone to give Sasuke a good match."

"How much trouble do you think I'd be in if I did my body switch jutsu?" Ino asked, smirking. "I'm sure I could give Sasuke a run for his money."

"Totally cheating," Tenten remarked. "And, while we would enjoy it immensely, it could jeopardize the exam. And the girl may be wrongly promoted to chuunin without really deserving it."

"Good point." The kunoichis sighed collectively, all leaning against the rails. The kunoichi put up a decent fight against Sasuke, and Sasuke was even forced to use two jutsus, something he had yet to do. Granted, they were simple fire jutsus, but at least she made him do something. Within five minutes, the kunoichi was KO'd, and Sasuke was declared the winner.

There was a thirty minute break, to which the five conversed in the stands. It was mostly about Hinata's relationship with Naruto. Sai, being Sai, of course asked about their sexual relationship, to which Hinata blushingly replied it was going good, much to the laughter and surprise of the other kunoichis. They couldn't believe that Hinata had actually answered the question; granted, she had grown leaps and bounds in her confidence, but still, they had never expected for her to engage in any type of discussion about her sexual life.

"Speaking of sex," Ino began, glancing around the circle with mischievous eyes, "how are you two going? Tenten? Sakura?" Tenten sighed, waving a dismissive hand.

"Sex? I've never heard of this sex you speak of. The few times Neji and I have done anything, it's been... rushed? Cover your ears, Hinata, if you don't want to hear this about your cousin. Sai, if you repeat anything, I'll murder you in your sleep." The man nodded, smiling. "Anyways, despite the fact that Neji and I have been dating for over five years, I could count on both hands how many times we've had sex." Tenten shrugged, sighing. "He simply isn't into it too much. I guess too busy or tired or something."

"That sucks. What about you, Sakura?"

"Arata and I almost did it once," she admitted. "I mean, despite the fact that we've been living together for almost a year, he never wanted to do anything unless we were in a legitimate relationship. He's classy, what can I say? We tried to do it about mid way through December, a few weeks after Sasuke got his chakra back. Sasuke was gone on his first overnight mission, we had the house to ourselves, and we were almost there... and then freaking ANBU shows up and he has to leave for a mission. I'm left there, on the couch, naked. Ugghh... ANBU." Tenten nodded sympathetically.

"What about you, Ino?" Tenten asked the blonde. Ino sighed dramatically.

"Well, I always have my plethora of men to go through." There was no doubt Ino could be called a hit-'em-and-quit-'em type of girl. While usually it was a male who wanted one night stands, it was Ino who took that role. She would enter in a relationship, typically for sex, and stay with them for a few weeks until she had her fill, and then go to the next man. It wasn't so much that she was _easy_, because she did have standards, but simply that she was never satisfied with one man or with one love. Despite this, Sakura had never considered her friend a whore, per se. Ino was a kunoichi; she did the same thing that most male shinobis did. It wasn't like Ino was overly open about her sex life, either, or that people knew how often she had sex. Ino tended to go for hot civilians, or males in lower ranks, or her favorite, men from other villages.

And, despite how much it was against protocol, sometimes even co-workers or patients. Sakura was aware of Ino's shenanigans in her hospital; she had confronted her blonde friend about having sex on duty (that had _not_ been a fun conversation, especially because Sakura had to explain how Ino's job at the hospital was on the line) and eventually, the two came to a mutual agreement. Ino would do her job, and in her free time, she could mess around, so long as she never screwed up or missed an emergency call. But, if Ino followed Sakura's rules, Sakura would turn a _(mostly) _blind eye to what Ino did. It was overt favoritism, Sakura knew, since any other nurse would be fired, but Ino was one of the best medics in the hospital, and sometimes, Sakura had to put the needs of the hospital over what was in the rule book.

"But, I can't speak of my latest escapade. My boss is right here, you know," Ino explained, winking. Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I already know about you fooling around on the roof with that male nurse. And about you screwing that other guy in the third floor storage closet." Ino laughed, grinning, not denying Sakura's claims.

"I guess you always do know what happens in your hospital. And here I was trying to be sneaky." Ino shrugged, sighing dramatically. "Enough about me, though. Sakura, I think you and Arata need to up your relationship, if you get what I mean."

"It's sort of hard when Sasuke is living with us." Sakura took a glance at Hinata, seeing the woman nodding sympathetically. _It's sort of hard trying to screw Itachi when his little brother is sleeping two rooms down the hall. _

"That's true. Ever think of a threesome?" Ino asked, grinning. Sakura gagged, shaking her head vehemently. Sai took this opportunity to share some of his infinite knowledge.

"It may be good for your relationship. Oftentimes, threesomes lead to more pleasurable sex and a rekindled spark in the bedroom for you and your partner."

"Sai! Shut-up, I do not want to hear it!" Sakura exclaimed, groaning. "I am not _ever_ going to do that with Sasuke. EVER. That's so gross." Hinata nodded, looking just as disgusted as Sakura was. Ino simply laughed, waving a hand to dismiss her pink-haired friend's fretting.

"Don't knock it until you try it, Sakura," Ino told her, grinning. Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but at that moment, Genma came back to announce the final battle of the Chuunin Exams was beginning. Sasuke and the Cloud nin faced off.

The Cloud boy was strong; in a few years, Sakura was sure he would be making a name for himself. But, as it stood, he was no match for the infinitely more experienced Uchiha prodigy. With Sasuke's longest battle yet, at least ten minutes, Sasuke defeated the boy.

Genma declared him the Chuunin Exam winner and then turned his announcing duties over to Tsunade. Two ANBU flanked at her side, as did Naruto, while Tsunade made it to the center field. Sakura grinned, seeing that Itachi was one of the shinobi at Tsunade's side. She grinned even further when she saw Itachi pat Sasuke's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze in congratulations. Sasuke's smirk turned into a genuine grin for the briefest of seconds; he was excited that his older brother had acknowledged him.

"We have been discussing the genins to be promoted; based on the techniques, strategies, and fighting styles used in the past three tests, we have compiled a list of the genin that will be promoted out of the sixteen that entered this last test. Out of sixteen, we have decided to promote five- a much higher number than usual. However, these genins showed amazing prowess in battle and impressed all four of us Kages." Tsunade looked up to the stands, where the seven other genin that had fought in the tournament that day stood. It seemed all seven were relatively fine.

Tsunade read off the names of the five shinobi she would be promoting. Three of them were the shinobi that had made it to the semi-finals. It was the Cloud ninja Sasuke had fought, the Sand ninja the Cloud nin had defeated, and the Leaf kunoichi that Sasuke had defeated. The second-to-last genin promoted was a Mist ninja that had been defeated early on that day.

"Finally, Sasuke Uchiha, we will also promote you into chuunin. After all, you scored perfects on all three parts of the exam. All the Kages have agreed that you seem to have turned your life around, especially considering the fact that less than ten years ago, you were trying to kill at least three of those Kages." Tsunade gave Sasuke a long, level stare that clearly said, _"We will be discussing you further. Be prepared to apologize profusely to the other Kages. Or else." _

As if to emphasize Tsunade's dangerous smile, Itachi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder again, giving it a harder squeeze. Sasuke winced, not from pain, but from knowing that his older brother was not happy hearing (_again)_ about Sasuke's past shenanigans.

"With this, thank you for coming out to support the genins! Best of luck to the genins that did not pass; train harder and we hope to see you in the next Chuunin Exam!" Applause roared for the Fifth Hokage, and she promptly nodded, giving a smile and a wave, and then gesturing for Sasuke and Naruto to follow her.

"I should probably go down and congratulate Sasuke," Sakura told the other girls and Sai. "I'll see you guys later. Sai, remember that we're going to be doing a training session tomorrow."

"Of course, Hag. I'll be there."

"Good. I'll be sure to beat you into the ground." Sakura smiled and waved goodbye to her friends, jumping out of the stands and onto the field. She hurried after Tsunade, Sasuke, and Naruto. And when she found the three, she had to laugh. Naruto had Sasuke in the biggest bear-hug, even lifting him up from the ground. Sakura rolled her eyes, coming up to her two other team members.

"Don't crush him, Naruto. Sasuke, congrats!" Sakura gave her other male-roommate a light slap on the back, grinning at him. "You've almost caught up to us. One more exam and you'll finally be a jounin."

"A jounin may be fine for you, Sakura, but I aim on becoming an ANBU Captain." Sakura raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms at Sasuke's back-handed insult.

"Are you trying to say something about my rank, Sasuke? Because, I assure you, I could join ANBU at any time I wanted. But, unlike you, I have more important things to do than be a simple field ninja. _I'm_ the girl that saves _your_ ass." Sasuke raised his own eyebrow in response to her challenge.

"Is that so?" he retorted, facing off with the pinkette. She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Of course. You boys get injured more than any other ninja. If it weren't for medical ninjas, a.k.a my staff, you wouldn't be alive after your missions. Medical ninjas have to be proficient in healing, dodging, and fighting. We have to be quick on our feet, calm in any situation, and able to recall a plethora of knowledge that has been crammed into our heads years ago. You try doing my job, Sasuke. Because I could assuredly do yours." With that argument, that left Sasuke in silence, Sakura turned towards her mentor.

"So... how have the Council been handling Sasuke's promotion?" Tsunade frowned, shaking her head.

"I'm sure they're going to be here at any moment. Where is your boyfriend, Sakura?" Sakura shrugged. "I suppose he returned to his post after we returned inside. Gaara, Mei, and A will be down here soon to converse with me the reasons for Sasuke's freedom. As of right now, though, they are congratulating their promoted chuunins."

"Don't you need to speak with one of your other new chuunins? That kunoichi? She was the only kunoichi promoted."

"I already did. I spoke to her when I first came in here. She was..." Tsunade trailed off, looking at Sakura's unhappy face. Slowly, she turned around and cursed underneath her breath. As expected, Homura and Koharu were briskly making their way towards the Fifth Hokage.

"What is the meaning of this, Tsunade-sama?" Homura demanded. Tsunade faced the Councilors, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Sasuke Uchiha was a condemned criminal."

"He has turned himself around," was Tsunade's response. Koharu tsked, shaking her head.

"I understand that you play favorites, Tsunade-sama, but even this is at extremes. You've always been overly sympathetic to the plights Naruto's teammates. We understand that he looks like Nawaki, but the fact that you've named him Hokage; and then with your student... Yes, she is a superb medical ninja, but you let her get away with more than any other kunoichi. Simply because she is your student does not give her the right to run the hospital, nor does it give her the right to be privy to the more sensitive matters of the village. And furthermore, you would not allow this for any other criminal, but because it is their teammate Sasuke, you're willing to disregard all the laws for this criminal. He's an international criminal, and the fact that he's gotten by with murder without punishment, and then reinstated as a ninja... We're wondering about your ability to govern the village, Tsunade-sama. You're promoting your favorites to positions we don't think they are really qualified for."

"Excuse me?" Tsunade responded. Homura gave the woman no time to talk and continued on with their argument.

"It's true. Naruto is not nearly as qualified or as exceptional as his father. Yes, he's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and he is strong. We do not disregard the fact that he did defeat Pain, or the fact that he defeated Madara/Tobi in the Fourth World War. But Naruto does not show the same intelligence that his father had, nor does he show control over his emotions, or have military and diplomatic skills, and he simply is too young to ever be named Hokage. He's not qualified.

"Not only that, but Sakura is not suited for the position of Head Medical Ninja in this village. She has less experience than many of the other medical ninjas, and much like her teammate, has a tendency to act before she thinks. She is not nearly as qualified as Shizune to lead the hospital, and her ties to Hokage just show what blatant favoritism you have for this ninja.

"And now this with Sasuke. A disgrace, Tsunade. It is a disgrace." Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Tsunade were stunned into angry silence.

"I'm not qualified?" Sakura finally whispered, glaring. Her fists clenched. Tsunade glanced over at her student, briefly shaking her head to stop Sakura from speaking. Sakura ignored the command, and unleashed her rage. "How _dare_ you! I am more qualified than any other medical ninja in this village! Just because I am twenty-two does not mean that I am not as experienced as other medical ninjas. Because of the fact that I have been taught by the best medical ninja in the world is plenty of reason to be the Director of the Konoha Hospital. I know all of Tsunade-sama's techniques, and have made my own plethora of medical jutsus. Our survival rate at the hospital is over eighty-five percent. And on the battlefield, it is over seventy percent. Before I took control, the survival rates were, respectively, sixty-two percent and forty-nine percent. I have trained our medical ninja leaps and bounds. And by you saying that I am not qualified... How dare you!" Sakura took a deep breath, stepping closer to the two.

"I may be young, I may be a part of Team Seven, and I may not hold my emotions in check all the time, but I never let my emotions get in the way of healing. Yes, Shizune does hold more experience that I do; however, Shizune and I are equal in terms of healing capabilities. When you can find a medical ninja that can take a ninja's organ and reconstruct the internal tears with their chakra, like I can, while simultaneously removing poison, then let me know. If there is a better medical ninja, then I am fine with stepping down. But you can ask my staff. I _am_ the best medic in that hospital."

"And just like this," Koharu began, ignoring Sakura's rant. "You allow her to talk back to her superiors. She has no manners. You'd allow her to get by with murder." Sakura looked like she had been slapped. Her face flushed and she opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"We're seriously going to evaluate those you hold in high esteem and determine whether or not that they are qualified to be in their respective positions. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are all on that watch." Homura turned to Sasuke, narrowing his eyes at the young man glaring at him. "And you, _Uchiha_, even if the Hokage feels pity for you, we do not forget your crimes. You will receive proper punishment with time." Homura shook his head, scoffing. "Those Uchihas. All of them were a bad bunch. There's never been a _good _Uchiha. That's an oxymoron."

Sakura and Naruto both turned worriedly to Sasuke, seeing his eyes flare. Even with the powerful restraints on his Sharingan, flecks of red appeared in his eyes, burning them immediately. Sasuke barely winced, as his fists clenched.

"How _dare _you talk about my clan." Sasuke took a step forward, and Sakura and Naruto reached out to stop him. But, as if he knew what was going on the entire time, Itachi dropped down from an unseen spot, landing in front of Sasuke.

"You will stop now," he told Sasuke lowly, glaring. His little brother turned his furious eyes to meet Itachi's bright blue, opening his mouth to speak. But seeing the anger reflected in his brother's eyes from the Council's comments, Sasuke closed his mouth, and nodded curtly.

"At least someone has some sense around here," Koharu murmured, nodding at Itachi. Itachi glared back, and even though his face was masked, the Councilors could feel the fury radiating off of the ANBU Captain.

"It is time to go, Sasuke. Sakura, let's go." Sakura nodded, too nervous at Itachi's anger to refuse. She had seen him angry before, but rarely had she seen him so furious. Actually, she was sure she had never seen him this mad before. She was not a girl that liked to live on the edge, so there was no desire in her to push her boyfriend and continue arguing with the Council.

"Black Cat, take Sasuke up to my meeting room in the Tower." Itachi nodded at Tsunade's command, and led Sakura and Sasuke out. As they walked away, Sakura could hear Tsunade and the Council begin to argue, their voices quickly escalating into a screaming match. It wasn't long after that Sakura heard something shatter; most likely Tsunade punching a wall.

"Nii-san..." Sasuke began quietly. Itachi silenced him with a look that clearly said, "do not use that name in public." Sasuke nodded, staying silent. The three walked to the Hokage Tower, their mood completely subdued from the Council's words. Despite the fact that Sasuke had become a chuunin, none of them felt the desire to celebrate.

Itachi led them up the meeting room and knocked twice on the door, entering. Gaara, A, and Mei were already sitting, with their respective guards behind them. Itachi nodded, leading Sasuke inside. Sasuke stood to the side, figuring he was not supposed to sit. Before Itachi joined his brother, he stopped Sakura from entering.

He placed an arm in front of the door frame, blocking her from entering. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, making his voice so low, it would be nearly impossible to hear what he was telling his girlfriend. "The Council is after you. You need to go home and lay low for now. I will stay in this room and relay what happens to you later. They will stop at nothing to get you, Naruto, and Sasuke demoted. Be wary." Sakura nodded and kissed the cheek of his porcelain mask.

"Of course. I understand." She nodded at Sasuke, silently wishing him luck, and left the room. Itachi joined Sasuke's side, saying nothing to the others. The three Kages waited for about fifteen more minutes, until Tsunade finally arrived. Her face was flushed with anger, and both of her fists were red from hitting something.

"I apologize for the wait. I had to deal with some matters with my Council." The three Kages nodded. "I understand the reason for this meeting is to discuss Sasuke Uchiha. I have not forgotten his previous trespasses from the Kage Summit some years ago. I also have not forgotten his alliance with Madara, his joining of Akatsuki, his attempted murder of Killer B, his attacking of all three of you, and his place in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Sasuke was punished immensely when he first returned to Konoha, as we agreed upon." Tsunade withdrew a scroll from the inside of her jacket, laying it out on the table for the other Kages to see.

"These are the list of punishments and tortures we subjected him through, as was demanded by the other countries. Ibiki Morino carried out the psychological torture; Kurenai Sarutobi carried out the genjutsu torture; Sakura Haruno carried out the physical torture, as well as disabling his Sharingan; and Inoichi Yamanaka also went through much of his mind to discover all he knew. He was imprisoned in high-security for over two years. He was isolated, and was routinely subjected to torture and interrogation, as deemed necessary. These are the dates that all interactions with Sasuke." The three looked over the scroll, nodding.

"We finally offered him an ultimatum of becoming a Konoha shinobi with restrictions, or remaining in prison for the rest of his life. We figured that it would be better to have an Uchiha on our side, instead of dead and rotting away."

"While these punishments do seem sufficient for his crimes," Gaara began, "I still am not convinced that he is a changed man. I also am not sure that he should be promoted so quickly. In all truthfulness, I believe that you would not have released him unless you had full-proof knowledge of some sort." A and Mei nodded to Gaara's statements.

"Even if you did offer Sasuke an ulterior motive, I believe that you would have put your village first in all cases, unless, like Gaara said, there was something else you knew that swayed your opinion." Tsunade bit her lip, sighing.

"As it is, there is another reason why I believe Sasuke will never do anything against the village. But, this is one thing I am not at liberty to speak of. It does involve several other members of my ninjas, and not necessarily Naruto. To discuss this matter, though, is a violation of my village's privacy. I understand that Sasuke is an international criminal, however the direct reason for his release involves much of Konoha's past and matters of top secrecy in our village."

"With all due respect, Tsunade, you are not giving us much to go on." Tsunade nodded at Gaara, sighing. A stopped her, turning to Sasuke.

"Boy, you prove your innocence to us. Give us a reason to believe that we should trust you." Sasuke stood up straighter, taking a glance at Itachi. Itachi gave no visible response, though his eyes met Sasuke's, encouraging his little brother lightly.

"I have made plenty of mistakes," Sasuke admitted. "I was a completely different person when I was fifteen and sixteen. I know that I was obsessed with revenge and power. I wanted revenge on my brother; then I wanted revenge on Konoha... I wanted to do whatever I could to ease the gaping holes that everyone left. I didn't know what I was doing."

"You are more willing to admit your mistakes," Gaara noted. "But what brought about this change?"

"Naruto was a big part, of course. But it was Sakura who... who did the most. She snapped me out of my downward spiral. I live with her now and she keeps me on track; a strict track. Sakura doesn't tolerate any type of relapses." Sasuke looked down, shrugging. "I can't prove why I've changed without going into the major details and the whole story, which I'm not allowed to discuss, but all in all, it was due to Sakura." The three Kages looked at one another, debating whether or not to accept the explanation.

On one hand, Sasuke was admitting he was wrong and that he had made mistakes. He seemed genuine. But on the other hand, he had killed many and had allied himself with the worst villain in history. There was no easy answer to what they could decide.

It was Mei that finally began to speak. "Sasuke Uchiha, while you seem genuine, it is not easy for us to just smile and nod and say, 'hope you do your best!' especially with your tumultuous past. Our village, our ninjas, ourselves... we all are humans who want to see evil punished and bring about revenge to help ease our losses. You were not a good person. We were ordered to kill you. It's hard to look at you and forget that."

"It's not easy for us to go back to our village and tell our men that they are to work with you and become your ally. You were on a path of pure evil. We encouraged Naruto to forget about you and to kill you," Gaara continued, interlacing his hands underneath his chin.

"Godaime, we have seen him fight in the Chuunin Exams. We have seen his restraint first-hand, and his seemingly genuine change of heart. But, honestly, it comes down to the question of if his change it simply too late." A looked at the three other Kages, frowning.

"I believe, in the end, it comes down to what you're not telling us that will make or break what we believe about Sasuke," Mei told her. Tsunade sighed, closing her eyes.

"As I said before, I am not at liberty to speak of such matters. I was not directly involved." Her eyes were filled with resolve.

"It just may not be enough," A responded. It was at this moment that Itachi pulled off his mask, stepping up to the table.

"Then I will interject and explain a part of the story," he told them, watching as their eyes all widened upon seeing him. "Yes, my similar appearance to Itachi Uchiha is because I am said man. I was revived and rejoined the village under a different identity. If this will clear my brother's name and ease your conscience, then I shall explain why Sasuke changed. My little brother had no intention of ever rejoining the village. Eventually, I went to him and discussed his actions with him, finally getting him to realize the folly of his actions and making him change his beliefs so that he rejoined the village." Itachi took a deep breath, placing a hand on the table. "This is _all_ I will say on the matter. You are not privy to know how I was revived, when, by who, and why I was accepted into this village. This matter is about Sasuke and as you were told about my actions in the Fourth World War as a puppet, I'm sure you know that there is more to me than a simple S-class criminal. However, these are some things that will remain secret. Should word get out about my true identity, I will not rest until I find the culprit. Understand?"

There was something about seeing a once dead S-class criminal back from the dead and insinuating threats that made all of the Kages silent. Gaara, A, and Mei slowly nodded.

"Does this redeem my brother in your eyes?"

"It... does explain his change of character," Gaara answered. "I'm not sure how he evolved from despising your guts and trying to kill you, to being a happy little brother, but I will be satisfied for now with this explanation. Granted, now I have more questions than before about what is going on in this village."

"I apologize, Kazekage-sama. However, that is something I do not wish to speak about. Some things are better left as secrets buried deep in the ground." With that, Itachi placed his mask back on, slipping back to the background. Tsunade turned to the other stunned Kages.

"This is why I did not wish to reveal the truth to you. I ask that we dismiss Itachi and Sasuke, and go into our own private meeting. Is this acceptable?" All three nodded. "Then, Sasuke, Itachi, you two are dismissed. And Sasuke, avoid the Council." Sasuke nodded curtly.

The two brothers walked out of the room, both subdued. Sasuke said nothing to his brother, and Itachi, noticing his brother's almost depressed state, placed an arm around his shoulders. It was supposed to be a good day, considering that Sasuke had just gotten promoted. Sasuke looked up at his older brother, sighing.

They didn't speak anything; both were men of very few words. Sometimes, it was simply easier to communicate through actions, rather than words. Sasuke could relish in just having his brother back and alive with him; the two didn't need to talk. They both could feel the looming storm coming, but neither wanted to discuss it. It was in due course, considering Sasuke's past actions. Neither brother had been perfect and both knew they would have to receive their punishment in due time. When that time came, though, neither knew.

"Let's return to Sakura," Itachi mumbled. Sasuke nodded, and both sped up. However, it did not go unnoticed by Sasuke that Itachi did not remove his hand from his shoulder.

* * *

><p>She twirled her drink hopelessly, sighing. Her twenty-third birthday, and this was how she was spending it- at a bar counter, slumping, drinking Gin &amp; Tonic, watching as her friends made fools of themselves. And she didn't even care enough to stop them.<p>

Ino was making-out with some guy in a back corner. She was drunk out of her mind, having taken way too many Tequila shots. Tenten was with Neji, both steadily heating up their own relationship. Sakura felt like she should tell them to go home, but she really didn't feel like moving from the bar.

She took another long drink of her beverage, sighing grumpily. Sai, Naruto, and Itachi were on a mission; they were supposed to be back yesterday for her party- today at the latest- and there was no sign of them. Sasuke had guard duty, again, and apologized for not staying for her party. He had accompanied her up until the very last moment when he had to leave for his work.

Hinata had spent a long time with her, too, but soon after Sasuke left, Hinata had to leave, too. She had a mission in the morning, and Sakura couldn't begrudge the woman for that. Lee had left earlier, as well, before he became drunk; the rest of Rookie Eleven were scattered around the bar, doing their own things. Honestly, Sakura had lost track of them, besides Ino, Tenten and Neji, and Kiba, who was now flirting up some civilian woman.

Sakura tipped her glass up, groaning when she realized all of her alcohol was gone. She sat the glass down, wondering if she should just go straight for some harder alcohol. Those Tequila shots were looking more and more appealing.

"One Apple Martini for the pretty pinkette," the bartender told her, sitting down the bright green drink. Sakura looked up, her eyes not completely glazed over.

"I didn't order this."

"No, I did," a voice said from behind her. A comforting hand was placed on her head, rubbing her pink locks affectionately. She grinned, looking up at her old sensei. "You looked like you needed a pick-me-up, birthday girl." She threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Did you just get back from your mission? I know you told me you wouldn't be able to make it, so I wasn't expecting you, but..." Kakashi's eye crinkled with his smile, and he nodded, patting her shoulder in response to her hug. They broke apart and Kakashi sat down beside her, ordering his own alcoholic beverage (A Rum and Coke).

"I did," he answered her question. "It was rather simple. Very mundane." Sakura smiled, nodding. "So, how's it going? With Sasuke? Arata? Everything else?" Kakashi asked her, smiling softly. The two had barely seen each other since Sasuke's chuunin exam, over two months ago. It had been hectic since then. Sasuke was flooded with menial chuunin tasks around the village; Itachi, Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi were sent out exceedingly on missions; even Sakura had been sent out on a few missions, but she was mostly stationed at the hospital.

The Council were keeping quiet, but everyone knew they were up to something. It was only a matter of time before they acted. It was the calm before the storm. They were probably waiting for something to spark their anger- like Hinata and Neji to finalize the Hyuuga plan, where Hinata gave Neji leadership of the Hyuuga Clan. Though, Naruto had told Sakura that Neji would only agree to the plan if Hinata and Neji had a dual leadership. Hinata had agreed. Of course, the Council shouldn't have known about the plan, but once they found out... it would be the perfect spark to ignite whatever they were planning.

"Sasuke and Arata are getting along fine, if that's what you mean. Actually, they're like best friends. Arata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai. It's like a weird match made in heaven for them." Sakura shrugged, rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. Kakashi had made a wonderful choice- the Apple Martini was exactly the pick-me-up she needed.

"How are you doing with Sasuke living with you?" Sakura sighed deeply, giving him a worn smile. "That doesn't seem encouraging." Sakura laughed, taking another sip of her drink.

"It's not bad, if that's what you think. He's easy to live with. And that's sort of the problem. Well, it's not a problem. I don't want to tell Arata, but I'm not blind. For as long as I've known, and as long as I loved Sasuke, I do have a decent understanding of him. He treats me far better than he ever did. He's kind and gentle, almost, towards me. Kakashi, I'm positive he loves me." Kakashi raised his eyebrows at her statement. "Oh, don't deny it. You know I'm right. You've had to have seen it by now, with as much as I hang out with him when Arata isn't around. He acts different."

"I... Well, yes, I have suspected it for a long while that Sasuke has developed extremely strong feelings for you. I just didn't expect you to have realized it." Sakura gave her sensei a level look, raising an eyebrow. "It's hard for me to remember that you aren't as clueless about love as you used to be, Sakura. Does it bother you? His feelings?" Sakura shook her head, shrugging.

"I think they are sweet, I suppose. I guess I find it ironic. I loved him for so long and when I finally stop loving him, he's too late. Though, to be fair, I think part of the reason he loves me now is because someone else loves me. Because I'm taken... Because I don't obsess over him. I know Sasuke would never try to make a move on me. I'm sure it's unrequited love that he'll probably keep for an immensely long time, if he ever moves on. But, it is what it is."

"You bring it up, though, because his feelings do bother you somewhat." Sakura nodded, taking another drink of the martini. "Do you plan to do anything about it?" She shook her head no.

"It bothers me because... because I don't want it to interfere with Arata and Sasuke's relationship. I don't think it will, but I'm sure Arata has had to have noticed Sasuke's feelings by now." Kakashi nodded. "I doubt either of them will ever confess it to the other, though. They're like that, you know?"

"I know," Kakashi responded, taking a drink of his own beverage. "You're doing the right thing, Sakura." Sakura turned to Kakashi, giving him a small half-smile.

"You really think so? Sometimes I wonder if it would have been easier for him to have just stayed dead. And then, I'm with him and I feel so selfish, as if I made him fall in love with me because I kept him all to myself. But I'm so happy with him that I wouldn't know what to do if he left me. How awkward would that be, too? He lives with me, he's tied to me with an unbreakable chakra bond... I mean, we can't break up." Kakashi patted her back, hugging her close.

"Are you happy, Sakura?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. More than I've ever been. I... I love him." Tears gathered in her eyes as she pressed herself closer to Kakashi's comforting embrace. She sniffed once, closing her eyes. "I have to tell myself that he's happy, because I... I _did_ it, you know? I took away death... I... If he's not happy, it's all my fault for bringing him back to this world... But... B-but..." She opened her eyes, tears rolling down her face. "I love him." Kakashi smiled, wiping away her tears.

"I know you do, birthday girl. Let's go ahead and get you home. You've had too much to drink."

"...Yeah. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." His hand ruffling her hair was the response she received.

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><p>Sakura groaned, rubbing her eyes. Her head was pounding with the beginnings of a light hangover. She really hadn't had <em>that<em> much to drink, right? Her eyes flickered to the clock and she grumbled audibly, seeing it was only three in the morning. She had gotten home around twelve; Kakashi really was such a great guy for walking her home.

Was Sasuke home? Was that what woke her up? He shouldn't be off of his guard duty for another three hours, though. So that didn't make sense. Was something wrong? She should probably go check it out, then.

Sakura groaned again, slowly stumbling out of bed. The alcohol was running full course through her bloodstream and she could hardly see straight. She wasn't a lightweight, but the half-asleep state had to be having some additional effects that made her feel more drunk than she really was.

She ran a hand through her hair, shuffling out of her room and down the stairs. Coming into the hallway, she could see a figure standing in front of the window in her living room. The moonlight hardly illuminated the figure- all Sakura could figure out was that it was a male that looked around Sasuke or Itachi's height.

"Sasuke? Is that you? Shouldn't you be at work?" Her words came out slightly slurred. She braced herself against the doorway, leaning her head against the wall. The figure turned towards her just enough to where Sakura could make out the pale ANBU mask. "Itachi? You're back?" Even in her inebriated state, Sakura could feel something wrong.

For one, why wasn't Itachi saying anything to her? Second, why had Itachi woken her up? His steps were always silent- she shouldn't have even realized he was home until she woke up in the morning to find him beside her. Third, why was he standing like that?

"Itachi?" Sakura took a step towards him, feeling her heart begin to speed up. There was something dangerous about him that she just couldn't understand. Her mind gave her the image of a thirteen-year old Itachi covered in blood, standing the exact same way, after he had just massacred his family. Sakura stopped mid-step, swallowing hard.

Something was wrong. Everything in her body was telling her that something wasn't right with her boyfriend. "Itachi...?" Sakura ventured quietly, stopping a few steps away from him.

"Sakura... I..." His voice was rough and raspy. They stared at each other for a few seconds until Itachi finally reached up and took off his mask. "I..." He looked down, clenching his fists.

"What's wrong?" Sakura wasn't sure what happened. She was standing in front of him in one second and then the next second, he had slammed her against the wall, kissing her roughly. His hands were sliding up her shirt while his lips slanted against hers.

Sakura couldn't even comprehend what was happening. This was so out of character for Itachi. Sakura knew something was wrong. Gently, she pushed him off of her, and looked up at him sadly.

"What happened?" Itachi took a shuddering breath, pressing his face into her neck. Sakura threaded her fingers in his hair, scraping her nails down his scalp. "What's made you so upset?"

"I had to kill them," he whispered. "I'm sorry." Her nails dug into his scalp at his statement, but she eased up, continuing to slide them down his hair.

"Who?" She asked him softly. He shook his head, kissing her neck.

"Let me lose myself in you, Sakura. Please. Please..." He kissed her neck again, his fingers going back up her shirt. Sakura had never seen Itachi this way before. But she did understand the desire to lose yourself to passion if only to make the pain easier to deal with. Sakura had wanted that often enough herself. She would not refuse Itachi. This was his way to deal with whatever had happened on his mission.

"Yes. Yes, Itachi." He gave a strained hiss, and nodded, nibbling on her neck.

Sakura had never expected their first time to be like this. Itachi managed to carry her upstairs, without ever parting from her lips, and she was stripped naked before she even hit her sheets. His ANBU uniform was gone in a flash, and soon enough, he was over top of her, kissing and touching.

Before, they had been slow and tender together. Now, everything was a flurry of heat, sweat, and passion. Itachi wasn't rough on her, nor did he harm her, but he wasn't in a particularly soft and delicate mood, either. One of his hands rubbed her breast, while he sucked on the other breast. Sakura arched into him, moaning.

There was no Sasuke there to impede them. Itachi had just returned from a mission, likely without checking in, so there was no one to call him for an emergency. They could finally do this. Those thoughts helped Sakura lose some of her restraint, and she gripped his shoulders, moaning his name.

Itachi gripped her closer to his body, holding her tightly against his firm torso. She wrapped her thighs around his hips, pressing herself as close as she possibly could to him. Itachi groaned once when she rubbed against his groin. His nails dug into her shoulders, and he let out a strangled "Sakura."

He kissed her once more, hard on the lips, and then broke apart, breathing heavily. His hand spread her thighs apart, and he angled himself over her. He glanced up to her glazed jade eyes, silently asking for permission. Sakura nodded, closing her eyes. He plunged in, feeling Sakura grunt.

Her warmth was intoxicating to him; silently, Itachi relished in it, closing his eyes to savor the feeling. He took a deep breath and began to thrust. It wasn't exactly thrilling at first- it took both of them a while to get a good rhythm going. Neither were overly experienced with sex, and as they both tried to thrust and meet each other, pleasure wasn't raining over them.

Eventually, they found their rhythm. As Itachi thrusted, Sakura bucking her hips to meet him, they could feel the waves of pleasure wash over them. Both grunted and panted; Sakura's hands found Itachi's hair and neck, while her mouth attached to his neck and collarbone. Itachi allowed his girlfriend to nibble on him, as he played with her breasts.

Soon enough, Itachi was thrusting faster and faster in response to Sakura's pleas. She had dropped her hands to the sheets, clenching them tightly, her moans growing louder in volume. Her muscles clenched as Itachi went harder and faster in her; her eyes screwed shut and she let out a an incoherent moan, loudly, as she felt herself explode with heat and pleasure. Her muscles spasmed, and she fell limp against Itachi, panting hard.

He continued to thrust, and within a few more minutes, he was experiencing the same ecstasy as Sakura. Even as he was delirious with pleasure, he had enough sense to pull out of her, remembering that he had not worn a condom and he had no desire to become a father anytime soon.

Itachi rolled off of her, laying beside her on the bed. Both were trying to regulate their breathing. Sakura's hand found his, and despite the fact that he did not particularly like hand-holding, he allowed her to intertwine their fingers. She fell quiet and he expected that she had fallen asleep. He was about to doze off, but she finally spoke, surprising him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He closed his eyes, wishing they had fallen asleep instead.

"...The mission went terribly wrong. Sai was captured; it was a woman. I seduced her and had to have sex with her. I didn't have enough chakra to place her under the Tsukuyomi, like I normally would. Naruto used my distraction to free Sai. I killed her as I had sex with her. She was pregnant. I didn't know that, though. Her daughter peeked in and saw what I had done. She was going to scream and there was no way Sai, Naruto, and I had enough stamina to fight off hoards of guards and escape. I didn't want to kill her. I didn't... I shouldn't... But she was going to scream and I didn't have enough time to think about knocking her out. I threw a kunai and it severed her throat. ...I'm so sorry, Sakura. I..."

She embraced him tightly, curling up to his side. She shook her head, and finally looked up, smiling weakly at him, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not mad. I understand that fear and the reaction. I would have done the same. Some things can't be prevented. I killed an entire family once," she admitted. "It probably wasn't necessary but I was so scared. Naruto had just been injured and I was low on chakra. They were going to kill him, I just knew it. I could have knocked them out or moved Naruto or something, but I just... I reacted. I killed the entire family- three children and the parents. I cried like a baby afterward. I buried the family and begged for forgiveness." Sakura held onto him tighter.

"I shouldn't have killed her."

"We're shinobi, Itachi. Sometimes, we have to kill the innocent to protect what we hold dear. We... we _are_ killers." Sakura closed her eyes. "It's easier... it's easier to forget about it, sometimes. Some things we just shouldn't dwell on." He nodded, stroking her head.

"Sakura," he spoke with clarity, despite their half-asleep state, "Sakura... thank you. Thank you for everything. You've done more for me than any other person has. I..." Sakura placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

"You don't have to say it, Itachi." He shook his head.

"I'm not my brother, Sakura. I don't care to express my feelings to the ones I love. And Sakura, I love you." She smiled, her heart beating with both excitement and fear. She smiled weakly, feeling tears gather in her eyes. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was scared when you first revived me; slightly angry that you would defy the laws of death to bring me back; but scared at what would happen. I thought you foolish in your idea, but I decided to humor you because I did want to see my brother once more. I never expected... I never expected this."

"Neither did I, Itachi. I wasn't sure if my plan would work, or what would happen, or if I was making a terrible mistake. But I had to try. I don't regret what I did." He smiled, kissing her temple, pulling her closer.

"Itachi, are you happy?" she asked after a few minutes lull. He was half-asleep, but was able to answer.

"Yes, Sakura. More than I can ever remember in my entire life. I am happy." She smiled, hugging herself closer to him, closing her eyes.

"Good. Then at least I made the right choice in reviving you." In response, he stroked her hair, holding her closer. They needed no more words, both drifting off into a peaceful sleep, comforted by the other's embrace. There were no more worries between them; at least for the night.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I hate the ending. It's so... cliche. But, on an interesting-ish note, this is my seventeenth chapter of my seventeenth story, posted when I am seventeen, and seventeen is my favorite number. And this is the first actual lemon (the rape-ish sex scene in Chapter Fourteen doesn't count) I've ever writtenposted! :O I will admit, part of that is coincidence, the other part is totally planned. :D Now, for explanations and stuff!

1. Here are dress links for each of the girls. I freaking bookmarked these dresses so I wouldn't lose them! RAWR ...Except, apparently not Hinata's wedding gown because they removed it from the site. DAMN THEM! Anyways, here are the links. Remove the spaces.

Ino's: http:/www .alfredangelo .com/ collections/ productdisplay .aspx? productID=7df1ccf5-3c61-49ce-80e0-65fc20df9d3f&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=5&colorId1=d5c3351c-594d-42cf-92ee-a093209b1cfd

Tenten's: http:/www .alfredangelo .com/ collections/ productdisplay. aspx? productID=185e915a-47df-4491-89fc-bad90778c70b&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=1&colorId1=d5c3351c-594d-42cf-92ee-a093209b1cfd

Sakura's: http:/www .alfredangelo .com/ collections/ productdisplay .aspx? productID=f177a38c-0cbd-47a7-bf3e-e82ac6cfd0c3&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=4&colorId1=

2. Sakura and Itachi having sex- I hope no one thought they were rushing in having sex. I know that technically, they've only been dating for one chapter. However, according to my Second Chance Timeline (because, yes, I do have an additional document that keeps track of all the events in this story month by month) they had sex on Sakura's birthday (in March) when they started dating in September- so six months. Furthermore, they had been living together for over a year. And sleeping in the same bed for over three (probably four) months.

3. Itachi telling the truth to the other Kages- This one is sort of complicated. In short, Itachi knew if he didn't tell the Kages the truth, they would have called for Sasuke's execution, or at the very least, imprisonment. As for the fact that they just sort of shrugged and were like, "Oh, it's totally cool that an S-class criminal is telling us he's alive and we need to forgive his little bro. No prob, dude :D" they were in shock. And all of them realized something really, really bad/secretive had happened in the village. So when they kick Itachi and Sasuke out of the meeting, it's to grill Tsunade about what the hell is going down in the village. They didn't just roll over and accept it. We'll delve into this is a later chapter, but I thought I'd reveal this much now so that I didn't get angry reviews saying the Kages were way OOC.

4. Finally, one last thing, Sasuke loving Sakura: If I didn't make it clear, I want to make it clear here. Sasuke loves Sakura because of, one: her change in character over the years; two: the fact that she no longer loves him; and three: because Itachi loves her. He has a tendency to mimic what his older brother likes, so that's part of the reason he loves Sakura.

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

_They all reunite as they have wanted since Sasuke's departure. Finally, after ten years, Team Seven is reinstated and gets their first mission._

**_Chapter Eighteen: Team Seven_**

The new arc starts next chapter!

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><p><em><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE: <strong>_Because of how close I have gotten to my written chapters (I'm currently writing Chapter Nineteen), I'm taking a one month break on this story. I'm going to take this time to focus solely on writing chapters. This way, updates will come faster once I have the chapters written out. I sincerely apologize for the delay; I promise to do my best and try to write like crazy. That way, when my month break ends, I should have almost the entire story drafted out. And believe me, these upcoming chapters, you don't want delays on ;) So, no, I'm not EVER giving this story up. But I am taking a one month break (just one!) to focus on writing, and to get some other things in my life straightened out. :) I'll see you in a month! Any questions, concerns, or anything else, please be sure to PM me or tell me in a review! Again, I apologize and I shall see you again in a month!

_**-Tri17  
><strong>_


	18. Chapter 18: Team Seven

Did ya miss me? Heehee, I'm back. Exactly one month! :) In case you're curious, I'm mid way through Chapter Twenty, which is turning out to be kinda long lol. I was hoping to be further along, but all in all, I'm happy with my progress.

As for one note, I think this story has taken a slight turn away from being canon. Since, Kishimoto stole my Sasuke-Itachi reunion idea (jk) and they met in the Fourth War. So, I'm not going to go back and try to fit that in. It just doesn't work the same. Other than that, hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p><span>Chapter Eighteen<span>_: Team Seven_

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><p>She raised her eyebrows, nodding appreciatively at the vest. He smirked in response.<p>

"It wasn't that hard," he told her. Sakura rolled her eyes, smiling. "I finally get to have a mission outside of the village, even though I was allowed to leave since the middle of last month. We were waiting until I became a jounin because that was the only way I was technically allowed to leave on a tougher mission."

"Why? You could have gone on a harder mission, as long as you have a jounin captain."

"Yeah, but chuunins can't go on missions with ANBU members." Sakura gave him a curious look. "We have a surprise for you, Sakura." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not supposed to tell you yet." Sakura opened her mouth to respond but it was at that moment that a bird appeared to summon the two to Tsunade's office.

"Oh, what does she want?" Sakura groaned, dismissing the bird. "I finally get a break from the hospital and now she's sending me on a mission?" She gestured for Sasuke to follow her. "If we are leaving on a mission, we'll have to make sure to leave Itachi a note. He worries easily." Sakura ran a hand through her hair, sighing. "I only have two days left of my birthday vacation and she's making me go on a mission," she grumbled, pouting as she looked at the calendar. It was already April 2nd, and she was supposed to go back to work on the 4th. She didn't expect to get missions during her vacation.

"Let's go, Sakura," Sasuke told her, hiding a smirk at her obvious annoyance. It was a fast walk to Tsunade's office; Sakura was surprised to see Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi already in the office. Tsunade grinned at Sakura's perplexed look.

"Welcome. I know you're still on vacation, Sakura, but you can take your remaining two days after you return home." Tsunade interlaced her fingers looking at the team in front of her. "We have a mission for the five of you. It is an S-rank in label, but it should have the difficulty of an A-rank. We have acquired information about an underground weapons and jutsu trade. Over the past few months, we have gathered as much information as we possibly could. Now, you five will go to exterminate the group, as well as recollect the remaining jutsus and documents. Anything left will be burned to the ground." They nodded.

"Sakura, if you can recall back to your mission in August," Sakura flinched, obviously remembering her seduction mission, "you dealt with this group. We have simply built upon what information you gathered. You ended up killing one of the ringleaders in the group that night; however, we have determined that he was merely a salesperson of sorts. He went between the main group of suppliers and then prospective clients. You guys will be sent out to destroy the actual supplier group.

"Kakashi will be the Team Captain, so you four defer to him. Sakura, you fill both the role as medic, but also a regular fighter. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai, I expect no problems from you three. Sasuke, remember that you are still not allowed to use your Sharingan, so be extra careful." Everyone nodded. "I expect success. Oh, and as always, there should be no traces to Konoha. Anonymous shinobi, as per usual."

"We won't fail you, Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto replied, giving her a thumbs up. Tsunade smiled, nodding.

"Then I expect you to go home and prepare your supplies. You'll be going to Earth Country in the coordinates in this scroll. I doubt you'll be home for a few weeks; a month at the most, though. I want you gone in three hours at the latest. No interim reports are necessary; I expect you to report to me first thing when you return home. With that, welcome back Team Seven. It's good to see you reunited. I expect amazing things from this team; this is only the beginning of your missions. Team Seven is dismissed!"

Something about being, officially, Team Seven again made all of them smile. Naruto beamed, slinging arms around Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura smiled, latching onto Sai's arm and pulling him close to her. Kakashi laughed, placing his hands on Naruto and Sasuke's heads, rubbing them affectionately.

"Just like old times, huh?" Naruto asked them. They all nodded. "This is the greatest. C'mon guys, this mission is going to be epic!"

* * *

><p>They were waiting outside of the Hyuuga Compound for Naruto. Sai sighed loudly, leaning against a tree. Sakura mimicked him, groaning. Sasuke grunted his displeasure, but the three made no motions to actually go to the door and rush Naruto out.<p>

As the sun got higher (they had to have been waiting out there for over fifteen minutes), they finally heard Naruto's footsteps. Which, Sakura concluded, was odd, considering Naruto was a ninja and should therefore have silent steps. The only explanation she could come up with was that something was going on inside that had made Naruto flustered.

Sure enough, her thoughts were correct. Naruto walked outside, running a hand through his hair, obviously irritated. Hinata followed behind him, her own eyes flashing in a strange out-of-character anger.

"And what am I supposed to do, then?" Hinata demanded of him, seemingly continuing their conversation from inside. "Neji and I agreed on this. I've been preparing the jutsu all week. You can't leave me. There is a clan meeting to be held within two weeks."

"Hinata, I can't help it if I have a mission!" Naruto retorted angrily. "I'll try to be back as soon as possible so I can be there for the jutsu."

"We've been planning this out for months now, Naruto." Her hands were crossed and she was talking much louder than her regular light tone. Sakura was surprised to see Hinata not backing down to Naruto, either. The woman really had grown a tough backbone. Naruto gestured with his hands towards Sai, Sasuke, and Sakura. Hinata shrugged, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, I know you have a mission. I know you're excited to be back with your team. But, really, Naruto? When the plan is this close to being enacted? They're naming me Clan Head in two weeks. I want to have Neji's seal removed by then."

"You don't need me here for that!" Her eyes narrowed into a glare, while Naruto frowned at his wife. "Look, I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I'm sure you'll be fine here. Ita- Arata is on a mission with Neji. He'll be here with you if you need him for anything. Right, Sakura, Sasuke?" Both nodded. "I know you're worried, Hina-chan. But, everything should work out fine. Okay? Now, I've really got to go. I love you." Hinata sighed, nodding, and smiled back at him.

"I love you, too, Naruto." She gently grabbed his hand, looking down. "You're right. Everything should go fine... Please hurry back." Naruto nodded, kissing her on the cheek, before jumping down to meet Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura. They nodded and took off towards the village gates to meet Kakashi.

Sakura glanced over at Naruto, who was noticeably sullen, and nudged him. "Hey, no worries. Why is Hinata so nervous, anyways? I didn't think you were putting your Hyuuga plan into action until after you were Hokage."

"We're not officially naming Neji joint Head until I'm the Hokage. But she wanted to remove Neji's seal before she's named Clan Head because she'll have more freedom. They're going to be watching her once she replaces her father, so she knows she won't have enough time. She was going to do it this weekend to work out any kinks in the jutsu. The problem is that if she gets caught, I was supposed to be here to help support her. Because of how close it is to the ceremony, she's scared that if she's caught, they will revoke her Heiress status again." Naruto frowned, pursing his lips. "But this mission is really important. It's one of my final missions before I'm officially promoted to Hokage. I can't refuse missions right now." The four made it to the village gates, surprised to see Kakashi already waiting for them. "I'm just... we've just got to hurry to make it home. Arata will be able to watch over them, I'm sure, but..."

"It'll be okay. We won't be gone over two weeks. You'll be back in time for her ceremony, too." Naruto nodded, readjusting his pack. They ended their conversation there, straightening up to listen to Kakashi issue out orders.

Despite Naruto's looming Hyuuga situation, the new Team Seven all felt excited at their mission. It had been _years_. They all wanted to test out their new teamwork skills that they had been working on ever since Sasuke was released from prison over six months ago. It was all for this moment: the re-establishment of Team Seven.

Kakashi assigned the team positions (Kakashi in front, Sai in the back, Naruto in the middle, Sakura to the right, and Sasuke to the left) and gave the general locations of where they were going and when they would stop next. Finally, they checked to make sure they had the appropriate supplies, and once everything was agreed upon, the team left.

Dashing through the forests was a mundane activity. Sakura let her mind drift, musing on her new team. Well, old team, she supposed. It wasn't like she hadn't worked with these guys for over ten years. And thinking back to her twelve year old self, she had to giggle a bit. This certainly wasn't what she expected when she had first been placed on Team Seven and promoted to a genin.

Actually, if she recalled correctly, when she had daydreamed her future, it had been her as a powerful kunoichi in the legendary Team Seven. She was married to the ANBU Captain, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto was Hokage, and Kakashi was the awesome, legendary advisor of the village. She and Sasuke lived together, and she was going to have eight children. The first two were boys, of course, and the next three were girls, and then she was going to have twin boys, and one baby girl.

Everyday, Sasuke was going to come home and greet her with a kiss, and lovingly proclaim her to be the best thing that had ever happened to him. Then he would lament about how the village missed her because she had to be a stay-at-home mom now, and how he missed fighting with her because their teamwork was absolutely flawless, and it just wasn't the same without her. And, Sakura would giggle and kiss him back, lightly telling him that as soon as the kids went off to the Academy, she would be back on duty with him.

Looking back, she had gotten some of those things from her fantasy. She did live with Sasuke, now. And Naruto was going to become Hokage. And Team Seven was legendary, though not necessarily because of it's prowess. She was a powerful kunoichi, though it was more in the medical field than elsewhere. And, Kakashi was a pretty legendary advisor.

Still, she wouldn't have been able to comprehend at twelve years old what was going to happen within ten years. If she were to see her twelve year old self, what could she tell her? "Don't worry, you're going to become a great medical kunoichi, famous worldwide. And instead of Sasuke, you're probably going to marry Sasuke's hotter, cooler, stronger older brother, Itachi Uchiha after you revive him from the dead. And you're going to meet this awesome guy named Sai who will be on your team- he's going to become one of your best friends, so don't hurt him too bad when you first meet him. Even if he does deserve it. Naruto is really cool too, and will end up saving your butt more than once. He's your brother, so don't be mean to him. Try to shove him towards Hinata, though, because that girl totally deserves him. 'Kay?"

Heh, just thinking about hearing that would have made her laugh. Her younger self couldn't have fathomed not marrying Sasuke. But then again, at that age, she was convinced that she would be able to heal Sasuke, and warm his frozen heart. That didn't happen.

They had all followed different paths. It was strange, thinking about it. Their team should have broken up after so many years. Naruto was almost ready to become Hokage, and was one of the most famous ninjas in the world. Sakura was a medical ninja, not even a fighter ninja. Granted, with her position, she would have to work with Naruto once he was Hokage. Sai was an ANBU member, and Sasuke was on his way to becoming an ANBU member. Kakashi was still the elusive, super-strong ninja. And technically, since their team was still together, Kakashi didn't have to take on a new genin team, considering he was still their sensei. All in all, though, the five of them shouldn't have been reunited. They should have all had their own little cliques and stuck with them.

But, it didn't matter. Sakura would never begrudge having her team back. She was thrilled with what had happened; it only opened up more opportunities for them.

At a rustle of tree branches to the side of her, Sakura snapped out of her musings. She stopped abruptly on the limb of the branch, scanning around. The team was spread out far enough that they didn't take immediate notice of Sakura's pause. There were a few more rustles, and she hesitantly approached the noise, drawing out a kunai protectively. A squirrel was what appeared, and she relaxed for a few seconds, taking a deep breath.

And then she saw the exploding tag about two milliseconds too late. The explosion rocked through the trees, throwing Sakura off of the tree branch and to the ground. She slammed into the ground, groaning as her back snapped. The explosion got the attention of her teammates, and she could see them surround her. Sasuke was the one to kneel down beside her, checking her wounds. Sakura took a few gasping breaths, trying to ignore the sharp pains down her spine.

"Sit me up, Sasuke." Sakura told him lightly, groaning as he touched the sore spot on her back. He tried to sit her up gently, lightly holding his hand to her lower back. Sakura took another deep breath, reaching back to heal the possibly snapped bones. As Sakura felt it, she realized she had not broken anything, but had only badly bruised her spine and back.

Sai and Kakashi patrolled around the area, while Naruto stood on guard around Sasuke and Sakura. After a few minutes of healing, Sakura stretched, hearing her back snap back into place, and the she stood up with Sasuke's help.

"What happened, Sakura?" Sasuke finally asked. Sakura dusted off her clothes, relaying the story about the squirrel with the exploding tag. A few minutes later, Kakashi and Sai returned empty-handed. They shrugged, having no idea where the squirrel had come from.

"All we know is that we need to be on a stricter guard. Someone must be watching us, or there are rogue nins around. I'm not sure if this was related to our mission, or if we're specifically being targeted, or if it's Konoha ninjas in general, or if it was just a mishap. But we need to be on guard, nonetheless. Sakura, I'm assuming you are all right?" Sakura smiled, nodding at Kakashi. "Good, then we will continue our trip. I want to be out of Fire Country tonight. We're heading towards Rain Country, and we'll go north to get through the border of the Earth Country. Once in Earth, we'll be heading west, keeping close to the southern border. Our target is nearly at the edge of the Earth Country western border. It'll take us about four days to get there. We're camping out tonight on the edge of Fire Country. Now, keep your guards up and let's go!"

* * *

><p>They were all tired. As they found a hidden camp site (which was an uncomfortable place, nestled between low trees, shrubbery, and tall grass- there was about enough room for a person to take four steps across the clearing) the five shinobi divided up the work for that night.<p>

Kakashi and Sai set the perimeter; Naruto unrolled sleeping bags; Sasuke worked on a small fire; and Sakura prepared food. As each person finished their respective job, they circled Sasuke's small fire, trying to warm up and relax. Sakura distributed some heated instant rice with flavor packets for them to eat.

They ate mostly in silence, and once they finished and had snuffed out the fire, they settled on a guard schedule. Sai took the first watch, Sasuke the second, Naruto the third, Kakashi the fourth, and Sakura the last, being the one to eventually wake everyone else up before the sun came up. They were going to sleep for about five hours before heading out for another long day of about seventeen hours of travel. They would take four fifteen-minute breaks during the day, and then the other hour would be used for setting up camp and eating dinner that night.

Because of how small the camp site was, the sleeping bags were all scrunched together. Sakura was practically on top of Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi laid at their feet, while Sai laid at their heads.

The night was cold, and Sakura couldn't help but cuddle closer to the two males beside her. She fell asleep almost instantly, feeling rather exhausted from the mission. She would wake up only when someone was switching guard shifts, and then knowing that there was no danger, she would fall back asleep.

When it was her turn for guard duty, she groaned, feeling just as exhausted as if she hadn't slept at all. Her hour of watch was boring and she spent most of the time dozing off. Finally, checking her watch (every shinobi kept a tiny clock of some sort in their weapons pouch), she realized it was time to wake up the boys. She started breakfast first, heating up noodles. Once the noodles were heating in the water and over a small fire, she woke up the men.

Again, it was a quick meal, and then a quick disassembling of the camp site, and Team Seven was on their way. Once in Rain Country, the humid, sticky rain began, making their journey even more arduous.

Time seemed to go slower with the rain. Sakura had been in Rain Country a little less than a year ago, and had stayed in the Hidden Rain Village for over a month- still, this rain seemed even nastier than before. They must have come during the rainy season. Mud stuck to their legs, they were drenched, and the tree branches were slippery. Sakura had already slid off of them at least three times.

As the day went on, the sun getting higher and higher, every member of Team Seven was covered head to toe in mud. It was in their sandals, up their pants, in their hair, covered their arms- absolutely everywhere. All of them were becoming more and more exhausted with the hard trek through the rough terrain.

And, as if fate knew how tired they were, it was at this moment that they were attacked. Six ninja came out from the trees, throwing a barrage of exploding tags attached to kunai and shuriken. None of them were expecting the attack. It was a complete surprise, and the attackers had been silent , lying in wait in the trees.

Sakura was thrown to the ground, splashing straight into a thick mud puddle. Explosions rained above her, as trees cracked and fell, leaves and branches tumbling all around them. Sakura was able to see through half-lidded eyes that Naruto and Kakashi were both thrown to the ground, as well. Only Sai and Sasuke avoided most of the explosions.

It was chaos. More explosions fell down around them, with planted bombs going off near them. With the downpour of rain, the debris, and mud splattering up, no one could see a thing. The explosions deafened them, and it was a flurry of excitement. Sakura shakily stood, leaning against a cracked tree. One of the kunai had pierced her arm, and when the explosion went off, it had badly damaged the appendage.

Panting, Sakura surveyed the landscape. Naruto was stumbling up, bleeding pretty badly from his cheek. Kakashi seemed to have been knocked unconscious. Sai was missing from the area, while Sasuke looked to be leaning against a still intact tree.

The ninjas that had attacked them were missing. It was as if they had ambushed the team, and then as soon as Team Seven were down, they were gone. Why they hadn't stayed and fought, Sakura wasn't sure. It seemed to be a follow-up attack from the exploding squirrel.

"Sasuke, Naruto, where is Sai?" Sakura called hoarsely. Naruto shrugged, limping over to Kakashi. He gestured for Sasuke to come and help him. Sasuke, too, limped over, looping Kakashi's arm around his shoulder, while Naruto took the other side. Sakura walked over to the two boys, looking over Kakashi's form. It looked like Kakashi had hit his head on a tree when the explosions went off. Sasuke's only wound seemed to be his leg, which looked like his ankle had twisted. Naruto was limping because it seemed like his leg had been pierced by a piece of shrapnel.

"I'll heal you guys as soon as we find Sai, okay?" Sakura took another deep breath, and scanned around. Sasuke gestured to a few meters away, where Sakura saw a bit of black hair. She nodded, figuring that she was the only one fit enough to go after Sai, considering her legs were still fine. She jumped up into a tree, using her chakra to stick to the tree and walk up it. Due to the lack of use in her arm, she could not pull herself up the tree.

A few jumps later, she saw Sai kneeling down next to a body. Apparently, he was able to subdue one of them. She slid down beside him, looking over Sai. He was wounded- Sakura could tell the blood on his top was his own, and his breath was ragged.

"They were stronger than I expected. They weren't trying to kill us," Sai told her, pressing a hand to the wound on his abdomen. "He seems to be a hired nin. His headband says he's a missing nin from the Hidden Rock Village. Sakura, I have no idea what they are trying to do. But I don't think these are coincidences. They are specifically going after our team."

"I know. Here, let me heal you here and we'll drag the body back to the others. I've got to heal them, too." She used her good hand to heal the jagged gash in his abdomen. She didn't mend it as well as she usually would, only sealing the skin together and mending some of the internal tears. "Help me get the nin," she told him. Sai nodded, and the two shouldered the dead body, hurrying back to Naruto and Sasuke. The boys had settled down underneath a large tree, Kakashi laying between them.

"Let me heal my arm first, and then I'll heal you guys," Sakura told them. Her arm was a mess- it was a mangled piece of flesh. She didn't think about it, and simply healed, regenerating her cells, and watching as the torn bits of skin reattached and repaired itself. Within ten minutes, her arm was looking just as it always had, albeit a bit red from the newer pieces of skin that she did have to create. It wasn't a particularly hard heal, considering that she did things like that on a daily basis at the hospital, but considering the extraneous journey their team had been on for the past day, the jutsu had left her a bit winded.

Sakura healed Naruto next, then Kakashi, and finally Sasuke. Once the three were back in stable condition, she rechecked Sai's wounds, and made sure that the abdomen wound was fully healed. She had no desire for it to reopen on the battlefield.

Now, she was left feeling lightheaded. Sakura leaned against the tree while the four males examined the missing nin's body.

"If we're being watched, then this entire mission is compromised. And that begs the question, how would they know what mission we're on? The only one who knows about this mission is us, and Tsunade-sama."

"So, you're saying that there are spies in the village?" Sakura asked, speaking up. "Shouldn't we report this to Tsunade-sama immediately, then?" Kakashi frowned, pondering her question. "She would have to look into this. Before other missions are sabotaged."

"Yes, unless this group is specifically targeting us for our mission. And since they've started attacking us since we've been in Fire Country, they've known since we received our mission what we were going after. I can only assume they are specifically after us due to this mission. Meaning, they are employed by this weapons and jutsu cartel. We'll have to be more careful as we go along."

"What was their purpose today, though?" Sasuke asked them. "They didn't stick around to kill us. They simply attacked and then left during the confusion."

"Maybe they know they can't kill us like this," Sakura suggested. "Maybe their goal isn't to kill us but to ward us away. We're possibly traveling faster than they expected. Maybe they are trying to delay us and then report our whereabouts to their employees."

"We can only speculate, but it's not getting us anywhere," Sai told them, frowning. "We should continue on like we planned."

"Can we rent an inn, though?" Sakura asked them. "I'd like us all to wash so that our wounds don't get infected from the mud and grime. Furthermore, I think we all need proper rest after today." All of them agreed with Sakura. Once more, they took off through they heavy rain, heading towards the Rain and Earth border.

* * *

><p>The inn was cheap and run-down. It was on the outskirts of any sort of town, and definitely meant for travelers as they passed through the Rain border and Earth border. The inn keeper was a gruff woman, who looked as if she could stab a person in their sleep without warning. She asked no questions, seemingly used to getting ninjas and other shady persons in her inn.<p>

Sakura took the keys up to the room, her team following behind her. There were a total of four rooms upstairs, while downstairs, Sakura had seen two other rooms. The inn was reasonably small, and it seemed that nearly every room was full.

To minimize costs and to keep the team together, they had all gotten one room, except with two beds. Sakura opened the door, ushering them inside. Glancing around the dark hallway, she quickly closed the door.

"There is supposed to be a small bathroom attached to the room. Ah, I think this is it!" Sakura opened a small door, and nodded, walking into the tiny, cramped bathroom. There was an old-fashioned tub, a washing bowl, and a old-looking toilet.

"We should be able to all get baths tonight. Sai, you get to go first because of your wound being the worst. I'll go after you. Naruto is third. Kakashi-sensei, your after him. And sorry Sasuke, but you're last. How do we want to do sleeping arrangements?"

"I'll sleep with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto told her, grinning. Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled in response.

"We need the tiniest three to sleep in one bed," Sakura reminded him. "You're sort of bulky, Naruto. Sai and I are easily the thinnest in stature. Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto, you three decide who's going to be the third member of our bed. I think you're all about the same width." Sakura turned back to Sai. "Go take a bath, now. You need to wash all the mud off."

While Sai took a bath, and Naruto and Sasuke argued, Kakashi agreed to go get food. Sakura stripped off her outer top and skirt, peeling off her boots. Sasuke and Naruto did the same, leaving only their undershirts and boxers on. The drenched clothes all joined a pile on the floor.

Once Sai was out, Sakura took her bath. She relished in the hot water, thrilled to have the dirt washed out of her pink tresses. She knew she couldn't stay in the bath forever, no matter how nice it felt on her aching muscles, so once she had scrubbed herself clean, she got out. A fresh change of clothes, and running her fingers through her hair, she finally exited the bathroom.

Naruto was next in the bath, and during this time, Kakashi returned back to their room with some food. It was simple rice and soup, but the hot, fresh food was a welcomed treat to them. Despite having been gone for only a day, Sakura realized how much she missed staying in Konoha and working in the hospital. The little things really did become noticeable when they were gone. She was becoming spoiled. For some reason, that didn't bother her as much as she thought it should have.

After eating, Sakura snuggled into the bed. Sai joined her side, while Naruto and Kakashi remained up talking. They spoke in hushed tones, but too exhausted from the mission and healing, Sakura fell asleep almost instantly. It wasn't a deep sleep, as she was still aware of everything around her, and Naruto and Kakashi's voices filtered into her dreams, but it was decent enough. She woke up almost instantly when Sasuke joined the bed. The team fell into a restless sleep, still alert enough to respond if anything were to happen.

Deep down, they were all expecting an attack on the inn. They were expecting someone to hire the inn keeper to try and kill them, or a group of ninjas to break into their room, or some type of attack of some sort.

They weren't disappointed. However, they were surprised with the attack. Team Seven was awoken around three thirty in the morning to smoke and screams. The inn was on fire. Sakura grabbed the bags of her teammates, shattering the glass window with a kick, and quickly jumped down, the rest of her team following her.

"We have to save the people in there!" she told the four males. "Use a water jutsu to take out the fire!" Kakashi and Sai were the ones to react. Sasuke, being proficient in solely lightning and fire styled jutsus, and without access to his Sharingan, could not use a water-based jutsu that was strong enough to make an effect on the fire. Naruto, too, had similar problems. Sakura, though proficient in water-based jutsus, knew her energy would be better expended by healing those that were wounded. Thus, only Kakashi and Sai were the ones to use the water jutsus.

Of course, that didn't hinder Naruto. The exuberant ninja simply doused himself in the water from Sai's jutsu and ran into the inn, determined that he would save the inhabitants the old-fashioned way. Sasuke, his eternal rivalry sparking with Naruto, mimicked the man and ran in after him.

When the inn collapsed a few minutes later, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi were horrified to realize that their two teammates were still in the building.

* * *

><p>Itachi shrugged, accepting Neji's offer for a spar and tea at his home. It had been awhile since he had actually "hung-out" with anyone other than Sakura or Sasuke. And, according to Sakura, he needed to socialize more.<p>

Considering that Sakura and Sasuke were both out on a mission (a rather unfortunate surprise, at that. When he had returned home from his mission, expecting so see both of his favorite people, he was sorely disappointed to find only a note that explained that Team Seven had gotten their first mission and were going to be gone for a few weeks) Itachi figured this was the perfect opportunity to "socialize" with someone. And, if he had to be completely honest with himself, he rather enjoyed Neji's company. They were more alike than he had expected, and since they were both elite shinobi in the village, they found themselves to be teammates quite often.

Nothing bonded a person better than multiple near-death experiences.

As an Uchiha, he had an inbred aversion to anything Hyuuga. It wasn't his fault- Hyuugas, much like the Senju, were long time rivals of the Uchiha Clan. Generations of rivalry just didn't dissipate that easily. After all, he had been trained as a child how to combat Hyuuga Clan techniques and even taught how to kill them, if need be. It was drilled into his head that he was always supposed to be superior to a Hyuuga.

That only made him grin, realizing his father would be rolling over in his grave if he knew that his eldest son's closest friend was a Hyuuga. The Hyuuga Prodigy, at that. Oh, the irony. It delighted him beyond belief.

"How is it going at the Hyuuga Compound? Sakura has mentioned Hinata's plan, and even said something in her note that it was getting close to time for Hinata to enact it. She made a little note for me to keep a close eye on her."

"That would be much obliged," Neji agreed. "On the surface, it seems fine. No one is openly hostile towards one another, if that's what you mean. Of course, anyone can feel the tension underneath. While the Clan generally likes Hinata-sama, they do not exactly find her suited for the position of Head. Many believe it should be given to Hanabi-sama. The Branch members have rallied behind me, though, deeming me to be the most worthy of the title. I, of course, have placed my vote full-heartedly behind Hinata-sama; no one in the Clan doubts where my loyalties lie."

"Does that appease the Branch side? They look at you as their leader, yes?" Neji nodded, opening the gates to the Hyuuga Compound. The two slipped inside, taking paths to avoid other Hyuugas.

"For the time being, yes. They find Hinata-sama to be more progressive than Hanabi-sama. They believe, and they believe correctly, that Hinata-sama will bring change to our clan. Still, the Hyuuga Clan, as you should know, is seeped in age-old traditions and breaking those traditions can be deadly."

"Of course." He knew that from first-hand experience. If there was anyone that could relate to Neji's clan situation, it would surely be him. Itachi had, as the saying went, "Been there, done that." Of course, his father had refused to even _think_ about reform within the clan. He had tried to do something- in the end, it had ended in a bloody mess with all of his clan wiped out. Clan politics of any sort were simply nasty business.

"Arata, we are surely going to go through a very tumultuous period soon. I'd like to request your aid and advice when needed. I feel that out of everyone in this village, you have the most experience with this sort of situation."

"I would be thrilled to help in any way I can, Neji. If there is some way that my mistakes can help bring about anything positive, then I'm more than willing to do what I can." Neji bowed his head, offering a grateful smile.

The two men finally went inside a deserted dojo in the far outskirts of the Hyuuga Compound. For a few minutes, they stayed silent, going through a series of stretches. After warming up, they faced off with one another. It was not going to be an intense sparring session- all in all, it was simply taijutsu practice.

Bowing to one another, they attacked. Their fighting styles suited each other- they were similar enough that the other could predict an attack, but made to counter each other, which made it challenging.

It was relaxing, though. They weren't trying to best the other. They weren't trying to kill one another. It was simple fun. It was like going through a dance- they moved so fluidly and gracefully, that anyone watching would have been under the illusion they were watching something rehearsed. Every move was elegant and what would have been expected from the best shinobi of the two strongest clans in Konoha.

Sparring with Neji took Itachi's mind off of his worries. It lulled him into almost a tranquil, meditative state. The only thing that mattered was Neji's moves and his counters. Sasuke and Sakura didn't invade his thoughts, as per usual, and he was left feeling refreshed. He was used to being plagued by worrisome thoughts. But at this moment, his head was clear.

He didn't need to worry about Sakura going out on her first, serious mission without him. He didn't have to worry about Sasuke not having access to his Sharingan (and the Uchiha's greatest weapon- the one they learned to rely on) while being on his first real mission in years. He didn't have to worry about feeling Sakura's chakra (because, much like she had predicted, as time went along, their chakra link was diminishing in strength. At one time, Sakura had had the ability to transport herself to him only using that link. He doubted she could do that anymore; not without using the seals the two had placed on one another. If he concentrated hard, he could still sense her almost clearly, but other that, it was a fading feeling). He didn't have to worry about the Council, of his clan, or anything else wrong in the world.

No, it was only him and Neji and their moves.

* * *

><p>"Honestly, you two are the most idiotic, stupid, knuckle-headed shinobi I have ever had the displeasure of meeting! If I weren't bound by my medical oaths to heal you two, I wouldn't! You two are so careless in everything you do! You just expect to be saved and for everything to work out fine, because it always has! Agh, when will you two ever learn?" She stomped her foot to make a point. "Now, we're two team members down, we're going to be moving at a slower pace, and we're going to lose at least a day of travel because of you two <em>idiots<em> and your hero shenanigans!"

They were covered in burns and bandages. After healing those from the inn, Sakura hardly had enough chakra to heal Sasuke and Naruto. When the inn collapsed, Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura all rushed to the building, immediately trying to find them.

But, Naruto being Naruto, used his Kyuubi-chakra form and blasted away the debris, holding Sasuke and a few other nins they rescued. In the end, only one person died in the inn, though nearly everyone was injured or burned in some way.

Now, they were in a forest a few kilometers away from the sight of the inn, and Sakura had taken it upon herself to lecture the thickheaded boys about their antics. Rain was pouring down around them; they had no shelter, again; and they were even more tired than before. It was, all in all, hell.

"I mean, really, you two? Did you even think about what you would have done if I wasn't here to heal you? I swear!" She sighed, shaking her head, and plopping down on the muddy ground. "I'm done. I'm too tired to rant anymore. I just want to sleep and be warm." Sai sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, sighing again. "Sasuke, Naruto, because you two are still burned pretty badly, you're under medical orders to rest for today. We'll have to take the watch and let you two sleep. You're not allowed to move unless absolutely necessary."

"Sakura, why don't you sleep now? Rest up for a few hours. We'll leave a bit later than usual, but that's okay. I'd rather our medic be in top condition so she can heal the other two failures on our team."

"If you say so, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura didn't much more convincing. She leaned over, laying on Sai's lap, and watched the navy-blue sky slowly fade to a bright pink with the sunrise. It was the mixing of colors from dark purple to golden-orange that stayed in her dreams while she slept.

When she finally woke up, it was to Sasuke poking her. Apparently, her team had let her sleep longer than she expected. The sun was far into the sky, giving the dull gray sky some yellow hues. The rain had stopped for the time being, though with the steely-gray clouds hanging ominously low in the sky, she was sure it would start raining soon enough.

Turning to face her other roommate, she raised an annoyed eyebrow, wondering why he was poking her in the cheek. She was still on Sai's lap, and she could see him doodling something on a piece of paper. Naruto was sitting on the other side of Sasuke, watching Sakura, giggling. Kakashi was amused at their antics, watching them from an upper branch in a tree.

"Do you have a purpose in waking me?" she asked, groaning. Sasuke smirked, poking her in the cheek again.

"It's time to wake up, Princess." His finger dug into her cheek, and his smirk grew as she became even more irritated with him. "We've got to get moving, sleeping beauty." Sakura groaned in response, but sat up, shoving Sasuke away from her. "Hey! I'm still burnt!"

"Oh, suck it up, you big baby," Sakura replied, grouchily. "C'mere and I'll heal you. How are you holding up, Naruto?" He grinned, flashing her a thumbs up.

"Kurama is healing me pretty quickly," he replied, referring to the Nine-tail's chakra. "I'm fine to travel. It's just Sasuke." Sakura nodded, and turned back to her boyfriend's little brother. She unwrapped what bandages she had slapped on Sasuke, and carefully healed the worst of his burns. She didn't want to use too much of her chakra, so after she had sufficiently healed the majority of his burns, she dug around in her medical pack for a healing salve. What burns he had left on his body, she wrapped bandages around, covering the wounds with her medical ointment.

"You should be fine to travel. Naruto, let me look at you, just to be safe." He agreed and within another five minutes, she had put a few bandages on him, and then deemed their team fit to travel.

Once more, their team took off towards Earth Country. Already at the border, it didn't take them long to enter the country. They traveled fast through the rocky terrain, because the farther they went, the faster they outran the rain clouds. With no rain hindering their journey, their speed nearly doubled.

By the time night fell, they had made significant process into the Earth Country. They hadn't made up for lost time, but they had done thoroughly better than anyone on the team had expected. The best part was that Earth Country was littered with caves, so shelter that night was relatively comfortable.

As soon as the sun appeared over the horizon, the team took off again. The farther they traveled into Earth Country, the worse the terrain became. In general, Earth Country was a rocky, almost barren wasteland. The biggest city, was of course, the Hidden Rock Village. There were a few large industrial cities scattered throughout Earth Country, but pretty much, it was too rough to cultivate land for easy living. The villages there were usually run-down and poor, and because of how sparsely populated the outskirts of the country was, it was a prime target for illegal operations to set there base in. So, with the rough geography, lack of hospitable villages to sleep in, and the abundance of criminals, Earth Country was never a fun place to be in.

The day of traveling was long and grueling. They didn't want to use too much chakra in fear of needing it, should they be attacked again. Therefore, they had to do much of their climbing the old fashioned way- actually climbing. If they started to fall, of course they would use their chakra to stick to the walls, but it was a strenuous process of pulling themselves up rocks and scaling down the other side of said rocks. Up and down and around and up and down and up and down... It never ended.

Everybody was aching by sunset. They were mid way through Earth Country, and had figured that they were about a day behind their schedule. They had yet to be attacked, and while all were on their guard (after all, this was enemy territory), they were pondering how someone could attack them. Since they were on mountains, constantly, they could see across the terrain and easily spot people. Everything was rocks and mountains- a person stuck out like a sore thumb.

Of course, on the other hand, they were also wary. The enemy _did _know the land the best, so they could easily slip into cracks and crevices in the rocks, hiding away. Ambushes would be easy to spring on the exhausted team.

"Kakashi-sensei, there aren't any caves around," Sakura told him, scanning across the horizon. "What are we going to do? There aren't any water sources, either, except one about... fifty kilometers to the north. That's out of the way, since we're going west. It'll also take a good while to get there." Kakashi nodded, looking up towards the sky. They were on a rather high mountain, almost near the cliff of the mountain.

"If it rains, we'll be in trouble as there is no shelter around," Kakashi murmured. "But with the sun setting so fast, we're going to be in trouble anyways. We can't travel in the dark, not in this territory. It's too easy to fall and lose track of each other. For now, we'll just have to set up an emergency camp here. We'll rest for tonight, and then head out as soon as we can see, tomorrow."

"It doesn't smell like rain," Naruto commented offhandedly. "I think we should be fine for tonight." The team nodded, deciding to trust their teammate with the absolute best sense of smell. Only the Inuzuka Clan had a better sense of smell than Naruto.

"Then let's set up camp." Again, the team slipped into their regular duties. Without water, they couldn't do much, but they managed with some dried food and what water they had left in their canteens. None of them spoke much; they were all too tired. Sasuke agreed to take the first watch; and with that, the other four promptly went to sleep. The morning would come much too soon for any of them.

* * *

><p>It was nice, Itachi decided, having tea with Neji. Neither of them talked much after they finished their taijutsu practice; instead, they sat on the steps outside of the dojo, watching the clear blue sky.<p>

"You are very close to Sakura-san," Neji spoke up suddenly. Itachi nodded, sipping on his tea. "Do you plan on marrying her?"

"I'm not sure. Assuming our relationship works out, then I suppose that will be the course we will most likely take."

"I plan on marrying Tenten soon. After all this Clan stuff works out. Once I'm settled in, I'll see if she wants to marry me. And you?"

"You've been dating Tenten far longer than I have been dating Sakura. You have also been on a team far longer with her. I do not know when, or if, I plan on marrying Sakura. We've not been dating very long, as it is. Only since September."

"That's over six months," Neji pointed out. "People have been married by then."

"I'm not one to rush," Itachi pointed out. "And, I've only known her for a little over a year."

"I'll grant that, then." They lapsed back into silence, drinking their tea. "She is a good match for you, though."

"You think so?" The Hyuuga prodigy nodded. "Why?"

"You two work well together. And she knows the real you. You don't have to wear any sort of mask around that woman. Besides, she's a healer. And you're a broken person. It makes sense for a healer to be with a damaged man. You both benefit from the relationship."

"I don't think that is how it works, exactly."

"She enjoys healing others. It's not a bad thing, per se. It's simply how it is. You're not holding her back, either. Nor are you abusing her. It's an improvement for her."

"And you?"

"Like you said, I've known Tenten for many years. Since we were children. She's the only woman that knows me without my mask on." Silence spread between them. Itachi noted that his tea was nearly gone. "Men like us... we don't often drop our guards. It's not easy for us to trust and believe in another person. That's why, when we find someone who does know the real us, we have a tendency to stick with them. We've bonded to them." Itachi nodded, looking down at his tea. "Arata, I believe our futures are looking up. If this plan works out, we should have a relatively easy way ahead of us. At least, I can only hope."

"As can I." This time, when they fell silent, it was Itachi who brought up the next subject. "Do you expect this to work out? The clan issue? Without a problem?"

"...No. I do not see it working out easily. I believe it will be a rough time. But afterward... I think something good will happen. Maybe it will lead to you being able to tell the truth of what happened with your clan."

"I'm not sure," Itachi responded, almost evasively. Neji caught his reluctance to speak, and though he could admit that he wondered why Itachi would not come clean with the truth, he knew it was not his place to pry.

Frowning, he looked down at his empty tea cup and decided to change the subject. "How about some more tea?"

"That would be pleasing; thank you." And just like that, they had fallen back into their regular relaxing atmosphere.

* * *

><p>Everything had went to hell. That was all they could say.<p>

Sakura struggled against her restraints, spitting out blood as she writhed. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai were no where to be found. Sasuke was perched on the edge of a tree limb, torn between leaving her and trying to rescue her.

The opposing nins, the same ones that had been watching them their entire journey, were eying the Uchiha prodigy. They were all tense, ready to spring into action. Everything was at a standstill- one move and everything would snap into another hellish catastrophe.

Sasuke was the one to make the first move. His hand inched for his sword. The nins' eyes watched his fingers flex around the hilt and then they leapt at him.

"Run! Get out of here!" Sakura screamed, gritting her teeth as the chakra bonds seemed to constrict around her even tighter. "Find Naruto! What are you waiting for?" Sakura wailed as Sasuke faced off against the six shinobi. Again, the cords tightened around her core, and she coughed, feeling strangled.

More blood ran down her chin, and she closed her eyes, feeling unbearably frustrated. Everything had gone out of control. They had never been safe- they had been watched the entire time on this mission. It was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Team Seven had gotten a little too close to their target- they were ambushed by two squads of highly trained shinobi. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai were distracted and led away from Sasuke and Sakura. Someone was able to snap chakra binds around Sakura, and without her chakra, the medic was useless.

Without Sasuke's Sharingan, he had realized he was pretty useless, too. He didn't have hardly any of the abilities and skills he was famous for. The legendary Team Seven wasn't really all that legendary.

Sasuke seemed to heed her words and realized there was no way he could fight off all of the shinobi. Not with his state- he was injured from a kunai through his ribs, and his arm severely burned. He turned to flee.

"Give chase to him!" One of the men behind her exclaimed. Four of the shinobi chased after Sasuke. The other two remaining turned to Sakura. "We take her back to the base with us. We'll get the information out of her." Sakura closed her eyes, wincing as she was dragged across the rocky ground.

The ambush had come right when they were getting tired. It was around two o'clock in the afternoon when they were attacked. It had come from underneath them. Kakashi had just summoned his dogs to scout around for their target base- they were all planning their strategy.

The attack was fierce and powerful. They had attacked each of them, sending an array of jutsu, weapons, and the scariest part: oil and fire against them. The entire area around them erupted with flames. Sasuke had saved Sakura's life from the said flames- he dived at her, getting his arm caught in the fire in the process.

With each attack, the opposing nins had drove them farther and farther from one another. They had known their weaknesses and strengths and had planned for their attack against Team Seven. It was why they were beaten so quickly.

Of course they put up a fight, but it was simply too overwhelming for them to react properly. They were crippled from the enemies. And as a result, their team was in shambles and Sakura had been captured by the enemies, likely to be tortured.

Sakura wanted to say, _Damn it! I don't need to be rescued! _But even she saw the bleak outlook of her situation. The chakra binds were strong- not only were they draining her chakra at an alarming rate, they were also keeping her from accessing any of it. Even if they were to come off, she would have no chakra left to fight with. And furthermore, they were so tight that she could hardly breathe. It was like wearing an overly laced corset. She felt like her insides were being crushed.

With Sasuke escaping, he could find Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai and they could regroup. They would come to her rescue. Until that moment, though, she simply had to bide her time and wait. She could watch the enemies; she could hold her tongue and try to plan her attacks; she could try to do what she could, but in the end, she knew she would likely have to rely on her team to save her.

Of course, if worse came to worse, she could always summon Itachi to her side. But, with the chakra suppression cords, she had a strange feeling the seal wouldn't work in the first place. And it was embarrassing for her boyfriend to have to come and rescue her on her first team mission. She would only call for Itachi (assuming she could) as a literal _last resort_.

Until then, she would bide her time and plan and watch and fight back as much as she could.

Ugh, everything really had gone straight to hell.

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Hmm, so honestly, I could've written a lot more on my break but I got horribly distracted by something amazing. I found Hetalia. And I love it. I love history, almost as much as I love science, and so it combines my favorite things in the world: History, comedy, anime, and hot guys! :D When writing, it's hard to stay on track when Hetalia is playing in the background on my computer. Heeheeeeee<p>

Now, for notes on this chapter!

1. Sakura is told by Tsunade that she is to be both a medical and fighter ninja. As we've just learned in the most recent chapter of Naruto, medic ninjas aren't supposed to ever fight. Unless, of course, they have mastered the (final form?) of the Yin-Seal release. Sakura, being trained by Tsunade, has probably mastered this technique, though not much is known about it so far. She may not have the same mastery over it that Tsunade has, but she can at least use it. Until more information is known about this new technique, though, I will not be featuring it in this story. As of yet. :)

2. The Neji and Itachi scene is not exactly going parallel to the Team Seven timeline. Instead, the entire time that they are hanging out, it is happening the last day featured of the Team Seven mission. Meaning, the day where Sakura is captured and everyone else scattered (a.k.a, the day of hell). :) Hope this makes sense.

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><p><strong><em>Preview!<em>**

****_With the team in shambles, everyone is fighting for their own life. Sometimes, no matter how you look at it, failure can be traced back to being one person's fault. And it is._

**_Next Chapter: In the Heart of Danger_**

Sakura is tortured...!**_  
><em>**

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I tried my best. Hope to see you soon~<p> 


	19. Chapter 19: In the Heart of Danger

Sorry this wasn't out on Monday. I do have a legitimate reason, too. I've actually been trying to post this chapter all week, but due to some nasty storms, my internet has been on the fritz. It's been a pain trying to use the internet, so every time I'd go to update, I could never connect D: That, and the past like two days, I've been really sick. So I hope to get the next chapter up in a more timely fashion, assuming I can with these dumb storms and stuff! Argh.

Ah, well, please read and enjoy the continuation of the Team Seven mission :D

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><p><span>Chapter Nineteen: <span>_In the Heart of Danger_

* * *

><p>"This has been an enjoyable day, Neji," Itachi told him softly, bowing his head. "Maybe we could partake in this again at some point." Neji nodded, opening the gate for Itachi to leave.<p>

"I would like that," Neji remarked. Itachi turned to leave, noting the setting sun, and began to walk away. Distractedly, he rubbed his arm, vaguely feeling like something was wrong. He couldn't place the strange feeling- it sort of felt like his body was trembling or itching or something- and all he could figure was that it had something to do with his chakra bond to Sakura.

"Hm. Is that the Council coming this way?" Neji asked, interrupting his thoughts. Itachi glanced over to where Neji was looking, and after a few moments, saw the approaching Elders. He outwardly groaned. "It's never good when they come. If you're fast, you can escape before they see you." Itachi agreed, having no desire to deal with the two people he despised the most in the village. He turned on his heel and had already pushed chakra to the soles of his feet to dash away when they called out to him.

"Arata Genji and Neji Hyuuga, hold where you are at!" Koharu shouted. Itachi hissed, and relaxed his tense muscles, turning around to face the two. The two Councilors made no move to increase their speed and finally, they leisurely walked up to the two shinobi.

"Honorable Elders," Neji greeted, bowing. Itachi said nothing, but did dip his head in some show of respect. The two noticed, of course, and pursed their lips at Itachi's reaction. But, they opted to say nothing about it. "How may we assist you?"

"We came to speak about some of your companions. Specifically, Team Seven. I believe you both are very acquainted with this team?" Both shinobi curtly nodded. "Wonderful. As we deem you two some of our most responsible shinobi in the village, after much thought, we have decided that you two would be the most capable of talking some sense into Team Seven."

"What is wrong with them?" Neji asked. Homura and Koharu both sighed.

"Their liaison with a criminal? The fact that they have the Fifth Hokage wrapped around their little finger? They are one of the driving forces behind every bad decision in this village. Tsunade-sama lets them get by with far too much. That is why we wanted you two to speak some sense into them- before they get worse. We are in the process of revoking their positions, should they continue their disobedience. One more mistake, and we will revoke all of their statuses. That is why we were hoping you two could reel them in and keep them on a stronger path. Neji, I'm sure you can talk to your cousin and she can talk to her husband. And Arata, since you do live with Sakura and Sasuke, I know you can speak to them. Both of you have plenty of missions with Sai and can make sure he is on your side as well," Koharu told them.

"What exactly are you wanting us to say to them?" Itachi spoke up and asked. Homura was the one to look at him and respond.

"That they are on thin ice. That they should try to lay low and mind their own business. We've been hearing the tendrils of rumors about something going on in the Hyuuga Clan. You should warn Naruto, Neji, to stay out of the Hyuuga Clan affairs. He is not a Hyuuga nor is he Hokage yet. Do remind him of that. His nosing around could cost him his position. As for Sakura, she should also watch herself carefully. We've heard talk that she is snooping through documents and such that she is not qualified to read. Again, that is quite the offense. And as for Sasuke... well, he's already on thin ice. He should watch his back carefully. I'd warn him not to get too comfortable in his new lifestyle."

"Of course," Itachi responded coldly. He took a quick glance at Neji, to see the same face mimicked on Neji's face that was on his own. Both men were cold and emotionless towards the Elders. "Though, they are a stubborn team. I would not be surprised if we could do nothing to change them."

"We are aware. Still, we hope that you give them our fair warning."

"We shall," Neji told them.

"Their liaison with Sasuke has truly made them fall from our grace-" Koharu statement was cut off by Itachi. Specifically by Itachi falling to one knee, his hand gripping his side. Blinding pain rushed up and down his body.

Neji's worried voice faded in and out, while the dimming sunlight soon became tunneled in his vision. Itachi's eyes glazed over and all he could feel was pain radiating through every nerve in his body.

The itching, annoying feelings he had been getting through the chakra link had blossomed into full out pain and agony. Something was wrong with Sakura. Extremely wrong.

* * *

><p>She screamed. Blood gushed from her torso, pouring down her sides at an alarming rate. She panted, trying to force her eyes open. With each breath, the chakra bindings dug into her bare skin, constricting her airways and making her lose every bit of breath she had.<p>

"Now, what do you know?" She grit her teeth, and looked up, forcing her pain-glazed eyes to focus on the man in front of her. The bloodied kunai dangled from his fingers. "This time, I'm going to break your arms."

"Go to Hell!" she spat, clenching her jaws shut. The man raised an eyebrow, but shrugged nonchalantly. He twirled the kunai, and before she could even blink, he had dragged it across her cheek jaggedly. She could feel the blood pour from her face.

"One more chance," he warned. She closed her eyes and shut her mouth, tightly pressing her lips together. He shrugged and pulled on the chains that held her arms above her head. As he pulled down on his chain, the chains pulled upwards on Sakura's arms. Regularly, people would be pulled upwards, except that they had chained her feet closely to the floor. So, as the chains pulled her arms upward, she could feel every muscle tear and her joints begin to crack. The more he pulled, the sooner her shoulders would dislocate. It would be a brutally painful process, and the longer he pulled, the more bones in her arm would break.

She knew what would happen, as she was a medical professional. The more her arms stretched, the more damage would be done. Eventually, it would cause permanent paralysis and shatter her shoulder joints. Even with extensive healing, it would be unlikely that she would regain full usage of her arms. Quite possibly, she would not be able to lift her arms in certain ways.

And if they continued pulling and stretching her body, it would not just be her arms to break. The longer they pulled, the more bones would break. Her ankles and, knees, and hips would be next. After that, it would likely be her spinal column. Her organs would probably rupture the further she was pulled, but by that point, she would be in so much pain, it would unlikely matter. And assuming her spinal column would break, she would most assuredly die.

That way of dying looked unbearably grim.

She screamed as her shoulders continued to snap out of place as her arms were twister further and further upwards and behind her. The pain ripped through her arms and sent her body aflame. She took a deep breath, feeling the breath rush out of her lungs, leaving her gasping. The screams died in her throat as the chakra ropes tightened further around her body.

"I'll give you another chance," the man told her, slackening his grip on the chain. "Tell me what I wish to know." Sakura was in too much pain to even retort. Her arms were burning, as was her chest, and body. The cut on her cheek was a dull ache to the deep gash in her chest and her arms.

"No response? All right, it's your choice." He began pulling the chain again, eliciting another wail from Sakura. He didn't relent and after an excruciating fifteen minutes, Sakura felt her shoulders snap with a sickening sound. The pain was unbearable- she had never felt anything like it in her _life_. Tears rolled down her face, and her breaths came out in short, pained pants.

"Dear me, you're getting a bit winded. I'll leave your arms alone for now." He dropped the chain, and Sakura felt her body slump uselessly. She wanted to vomit from the pain. The shinobi's mocking voice was grating on her nerves, but she could do nothing about him. She could do nothing about anything.

"Ah, now, again, I'll ask you once more. Maybe you're a little more willing to talk now that you know I'm serious. How much do you know about our operation? What were you sent here for?" The pain was blinding her senses. It was so great. Burning through every nerve in her body; so much pain.

"N-nothing!" Sakura finally rasped out. Her eyes opened briefly, and she coughed out a mouth-full of blood. "I don't know-" There was another choking, gasping sound as the blood rushed up her throat, gurgling in her mouth.

"Oh, I don't believe that. The pupil of the Fifth Hokage? The legendary Sakura Haruno, of the equally as famous Team Seven? The one who is dating one of the most famous up and coming shinobi, Arata Genji?"

"H...How do you..." _know that? _Sakura finished in her mind. No one outside of Konoha should have known about her relationship with Itachi. It wasn't common knowledge even in the village. They were private people- sure, Konoha was gossipy, but for it to spread to the outer reaches of _Earth Country_? That was impossible. Even in her pain induced state, she had caught the odd admission. She decided to file that information into the back of her head- it meant someone had infiltrated Konoha and was close to them.

"Oh, I know all kinds of things about you, my dear." A finger traced her jaw, and she opened her eyes to look at him. "But, right now, we're not talking about me and you. We're talking about what you're doing here." His gentle stroking turned rough and he scraped his fingernail down her face. "And where your team is now. You've been here for hours and from what I've heard, your team is no where to be found. Have they abandoned you?"

_Kakashi-sensei would never abandon me. They're just regrouping. They will be back for me. _

"Ah, it seems I have hit a nerve. I see the panic and anger in your eyes. That is, underneath all the immense pain you seem to be suffering from." His thumb went back to stroking her face. She couldn't help it, she closed her eyes, relishing in the one gentle motion. It was the only nice gesture she had felt in the last several hours.

"Alas, my dear, I cannot be so kind anymore. I demand an answer, Sakura Haruno. Or else I will begin cutting you from shoulder to hip." She closed her eyes. The pain was so unbearable in her shoulders. The chakra bindings had strangled her to the point where she could not take a full breath any longer.

She had no more strength. Her chakra was gone, her energy was gone, her will to fight back was gone. She would never tell them anything. She didn't want to die. But there was nothing she could do. She was so... _tired._

"Nothing. There... is... nothing to... tell." She closed her eyes, not able to watch as he dragged the kunai slowly across her chest. It slit her chest bindings, drawing blood to stain the white bandages, and as he slowly cut across her torso. The blood oozed up, bubbling and slipping down her bare skin. Sakura only wore her chest bindings and biker shorts. At first, she had been greatly offended to be stripped down. Now, she didn't give a damn. She was in so much pain that nothing mattered.

He made a complementary cut across her other shoulder, effectively making an X-shape on her body. Pain erupted from the cuts, burning down her torso, following the trail of the slashes. Sakura closed her eyes, feeling even more weary from the loss of blood. She knew her body- she didn't have long until she fainted.

"If you're not going to speak, kunoichi, I will end up killing you. Seems a bit of a shame for the best medical ninja in the world to die this way, huh?" That made her want to scoff. She was supposed to be the best medical ninja in the world, rivaling only her mentor, and yet, she was about to die because her chakra was cut off?

It wasn't completely her fault, though. These shinobi had prepared to fight her. And she was a loose cannon- by ridding the team of her, there would be no one to heal the other members of her team, and no one to brutally fight with devastating punches. The chakra binds were made specifically to combat her. That's why they kept contracting every time she took a breath. They knew by cutting off her air supply, she would be distracted and thus, she wouldn't be able to try and use her chakra to break apart the binds. Because she had done that before in the past.

And if she could get the binds off and get just a teensy bit of chakra back in her body, she could activate one of her Yin-Seals, and thus flood her body with stored chakra. But since she couldn't, the seals were harming her more than helping her. That was the risk of placing four different Yin-Seals (granted, one no longer collected regular chakra, as it was only for her special life-force chakra that she converted) on her body. With the three seals, every time she did get a bit of chakra to come into her body, it was quickly snatched away by her seals. They were draining her body of its natural chakra, just like the chakra bindings.

All in all, Sakura felt utterly screwed. After all her years of training, she was once again relegated to being a damsel in distress- that was the most frustrating part. That, and if she died, she knew Itachi would too.

That would be another great thing to do with her chakra- call Itachi to her side. She was surprised she hadn't felt her seal burning yet. She could only figure that if he had activated the seal, the chakra bindings were keeping it blocked off.

So, yet again, her other back-up plan was eradicated.

Tears of pain and frustration rolled down her face. She couldn't help it. She really wanted to just cry like a baby and go home and curl up on the couch with Itachi and a cup of steaming hot cocoa. Life just wasn't fair.

"Ah, you're about to faint. I can tell. I'll have to keep you awake for a little while longer." Sakura kept her eyes closed, but could hear the man twirl his bloodied kunai around his finger. The blade cut the air each time it made a full circle around his finger. She waited for him to hit her with it again. Maybe he would draw a line from her throat to her naval, to make a star-shaped pattern across her chest.

He didn't.

Instead, he used his fists to hit her across the face.

Sakura's eyes snapped open as she was slung to the side. The chains around her feet wrenched her back.

"Ah, there are those pretty little eyes." He grinned- she could see that even through her half-lidded state- and stopped twirling his kunai. He held it up and then brought it down. The blade jaggedly cut down her face, from her forehead to her chin, then it was dragged down her throat, her chest, and ended at the hemline on her shorts. "I'll continue to cut, and next time, I won't stop at your shorts."

It was a few seconds after he had finished cutting that the pain erupted all over her body. It was searing and burning and felt like her entire body was falling apart, especially at her face.

Sakura screamed with everything in her, especially when he began to cut across her face again.

* * *

><p>Neji braced Itachi on his shoulder, watching as the man panted hard. He braced himself against the wall with one arm, using the other arm to hang onto Neji. Beside them, the Council looked on both horrified and curious.<p>

"What is wrong with you?" Neji hissed. Itachi looked at him, trying to formulate a response.

"It's _her,_" he murmured, swallowing hard. His eyes closed as a cold sweat broke out over his body. "I have to..." He couldn't finish his sentence and slumped against Neji. "I need to go home," he told him. Neji nodded and turned to the Council.

"Excuse us, I think he needs to rest. His last mission must have aggravated an old wound. It happens occasionally, and since Sakura is on a mission, she hasn't been able to look over him," Neji lied. "Please excuse us; I need to take him home." He didn't wait for a response and briskly walked away.

When they finally made it to Sakura's home, and Neji was able to bring Itachi inside, laying him on the couch, he waited to hear the explanation. It took Itachi a few minutes to regain his breath and his senses enough to speak coherently.

"Sakura and I share a chakra bond from when she revived me. Her chakra keeps me alive. Because of this bond, when she is injured, I can sense it, and vice-versa. This has happened before in the past, though the situations were reversed. However, I do not believe she was in this much pain. It is probably because if she were to die, I would die as well. Therefore, her wounds and her pain radiate in her chakra and have a mirror-like effect on me." Itachi coughed, frowning when he saw the blood on his hands.

"She's gravely injured. We have a seal that connects us to one another, and should allow me to transport to her side. However, I've been sending chakra through it to activate it ever since I collapsed. There is no response."

"I've heard of those seals before," Neji remarked. "They only stop working if the receiving partner cannot access their chakra." Itachi nodded gravely. "...There is nothing you can do, then, is there?" He shook his head.

"Until she is given some sort of chakra, I cannot come to her aid. Much like her, I am stuck awaiting either death or a rescue squad."

"Should I report to Tsunade and have a rescue team sent?" Neji asked, pacing to the window. Itachi shook his head, groaning as a blinding pain soared down his chest.

"There is no need. Sasuke and Sakura mentioned in the letter they left me that they were traveling to Earth Country. It would take at least four days to make it there if we left now. By that point, Sakura will either be dead or saved."

"But reinforcements may save them." Itachi shook his head, closing his eyes at the aches in his arms and chest.

"No. What will save them is Naruto, and Sakura's chakra. Besides that, there is nothing we can do. We can only wait." Neji sighed, nodding in resignation.

"I will stay here with you then. And monitor your condition. If you get worse, I will retrieve Tsunade-sama and see if she can at least save you. Assuming Sakura dies, that is." Itachi closed his eyes, not even wanting to think of that possibility.

* * *

><p>The rain was pounding ferociously. Naruto growled, glowing golden with the chakra from the Nine-tails. Kakashi and Sai were behind him, guarding his back.<p>

It had been awhile since he had gone into this form and had called on Kurama to help him. The Nine-tails, whom he had become immensely close to, was more than willing to help him in this situation. Apparently, though Kurama disliked Sasuke, he had enjoyed Sakura's warm chakra whenever she healed Naruto. And, she was a spitfire- a quality that Kurama liked.

So, Naruto had gotten a little extra boost of chakra from his nine-tailed friend. And he was putting it to good use- Naruto was absolutely _pissed_. Sakura and Sasuke were both missing, and he was off fighting with a few squads of shinobi with Kakashi and Sai.

And he knew that he needed to find Sakura. He had seen the chakra ropes snap onto his female friend. Without her chakra, Sakura wasn't nearly that formidable. And without his Sharingan, Sasuke wasn't that formidable, either. The two left alone would be in trouble.

Naruto glanced over at Sai and Kakashi. They were quickly taking out the enemies- though, it was a little more difficult than usual because the rain was ruining Sai's ink drawings. He'd have to hover over his paper to block the rain away so his ink drawings would come to life. And even then, they only lasted a few minutes before the rain washed them away.

"Naruto, make a clone to keep here and then go after Sasuke and Sakura! We've left them alone for too long!" Kakashi called, blocking a shinobi, and using his kunai to slit his throat. The blood sprayed across his and Sai's face.

"They were supposed to follow after us!" Naruto called, making the hand seals to make his clone. "I'll go after them. You guys follow as soon as you can!" Kakashi nodded, flinging another shinobi away from him. Naruto nodded at his clone, and then dashed away, punching enemies away as he went. About five shinobi followed after him, but Naruto didn't slow down to deal with them. He could see the setting sun and knew that it had taken far too long Sakura and Sasuke to return. He knew something was wrong. Something _had_ to be wrong for them not to have returned to their group yet.

Growling, he merely increased his speed, hoping he was going in the correct direction.

* * *

><p>She kept her eyes closed, tears rolling down her face. She was hardly conscious. The pain that had been inflicted upon her had become so exponentially great that it had overwhelmed her senses. Now, she was just waiting.<p>

A disturbance upstairs had sent the man torturing her away for a few minutes. Sakura wasn't sure how long he'd been gone- she had been going in an out of consciousness for a while now.

The blood loss was making her light-headed. She wanted to sleep. The blood dripping down her face and chest was driving her crazy. It was so sticky. And the metallic scent was making her sick. She hadn't felt this bad in... ever.

Sakura closed her eyes, wondering how long she'd actually last. Judging from her blood loss and from the lack of chakra, Sakura figured she had about two hours left. Assuming she fainted within the next fifteen minutes, she would quickly enough fall into a coma. Within two hours, her blood loss would most likely kill her.

If she were going to die... Sakura let her thoughts drift over to her most important people. Itachi, Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke, Ino, Tsunade, Shizune, Hinata, Lee... All of Rookie Eleven. Itachi would have to take care of Heiwa. And Shizune would have to take care of the hospital. Team Seven would be a male only team. Ino would have to find someone else to accompany her to the club for the weekend. Hinata would have to find someone else to be her child's godmother. Tsunade would have to find another pupil. Itachi would have to find another girlfriend.

With that thought, she finally fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>Sasuke crept around the fortress, lurking in the shadows. He had already fought off the ninja that had followed him. It had taken him far too long to defeat them- he never knew how much he depended on his Sharingan until now- but he had retraced his steps to find Sakura. The sun was still bright, but it was getting darker. It had to be nearing four o'clock.<p>

Sentries patrolled the grounds, alert and ready. Sasuke knew he would have to kill them the old fashioned way- sneaking up on them, and taking them out from behind. He slid against the wall, inching his way towards the first sentry. He made not a sound- not even his breathing was audible. He was still in the shadow of the building as he slipped behind the first sentry.

Easily, he placed his kunai against the man's throat. A flick of the wrist, and the man's throat was slit. Sasuke kept a hold of the guard, quickly and silently laying him down. Before the other sentry could spot the blood, Sasuke moved. Again, he was in the shadows, creeping and lurking.

As soon as the next sentry turned his head towards his companion, spotting the blood and the fallen body, Sasuke struck. His speed was still legendary, and the man had no idea what had hit him. Sasuke used his kunai to slit his throat, as well. Even though throat slitting was unbearably messy, it was the only way to keep the target silent. With a gaping hole in their throat, they could not cry out.

Sasuke went back into the shadows, pulling chakra into his feet. By his estimate, there were still four more sentries around the perimeter. There were also two on the roof, likely on the other side, considering that they still hadn't alerted anyone to his presence yet. Those two would be the most dangerous.

He practically flew up the side of the building. His feet made no sound as they ran up the stones, and he easily gripped the tiled roof, pulling himself onto the surface. He kept low as possible, scanning around. The roof was long and mostly flat. He easily spotted the two other sentry, both scanning across the field.

This fortress was up high, on another mountain, and perched dangerously on a cliff. Below the cliff, it seemed there was something that had gotten the sentries attention, as they were both watching intently. Sasuke could only figure that Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai had been led down there. It would have been a smart move, too, as the sentries would have been able to spot if they were trying to climb the cliff, or if they were going the long way and coming up towards the fortress.

But, they had also neglected to guard their backs. Sasuke smirked and wasted no time in dashing across the roof, pulling out his sword to attack. He struck one across the back, sending the man to his knees. The other turned around to the side, and opened his mouth to scream at the sight of his fallen comrade, when Sasuke slashed him across the face.

For safety measures, he kicked both bodies as far as he could, making sure to use chakra in his kick. The dead bodies flew off the roof and the cliff, falling far to their demise. If they hadn't been dead before, they most assuredly were then.

Since he was on the roof, he could easily see the positions of the other four guards. Two were patrolling one side of the building, and the other two were spread apart. With a start, he realized one was heading to the position of the two dead sentries at the front of the fortress.

He had always been accurate with his shuriken. He slid to the correct spot on the edge of the roof, and threw the ninja stars, grinning triumphantly when they thumped into the guard's body. Two lodged in his skull, while one tore through his throat, and the other three pierced spots in his spinal column. The man went down, bleeding fiercely. If he wasn't dead, he would be within minutes.

Sasuke repeated his actions for the other three sentries. They were all easy kills and it was almost unsettling with how his plans were going off without a hitch. He could only figure that once he got inside, his luck would run out.

He was right.

As soon as he stepped into the building, four shinobi met him. Apparently, they had walked outside and had seen their comrades' dead bodies. Sasuke grunted as one got a hit on him, and he had to spin around to keep from getting his head taken off. Another kicked his feet out from under him, but Sasuke braced himself on his hands, throwing himself up into the air with a burst of chakra. He quickly went through the hand seals for his Katon jutsu, thrilled when the giant fireball had the men scattering away from him.

He came at them with his sword. They were not easy to kill, though, and all had to be jounin level, at least. Before, with his Sharingan, they would have been child's play to him. Now, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to defeat them. He slashed, kicked, and hit with everything in him. The men, though, were able to do just as much to him.

Finally, after a grueling fifteen minute fight, he had lopped two of their heads off with his sword, burnt another one to ashes, and had slit the final one's throat. He was covered in crimson, but he paid it no mind as he walked to the next room.

And found six more ninja waiting for him. They attacked as soon as his foot was in the door. Again, the fight was long and tough. He was slashed and cut; this time, he even had to use his Chidori techniques. Specifically, he used it on his sword.

The next room, he immediately activated his Chidori Current, letting it act both as a defensive shield, and as an attack. The seven shinobi in this room were quickly paralyzed. Sasuke was able to move quickly and kill them all. He kept his Chidori Current going as he went down the hallway and into the next room. There were twelve shinobi in this room. Sasuke withdrew senbon needles from his pouch, and using his Chidori, concentrated the electrical waves into the senbon.

Even though his aim was not as accurate or as deadly as it usually was with his Sharingan, it still did the trick and paralyzed at least six of the shinobi, while killing three. The other three were still standing when he attacked with his Kusanagi, sending the Chidori through the blade and extending the electric waves to hit all three enemies. After that, it was a simple task to simply slit their throats with his sword.

He released his Chidori Current around his body, taking a deep breath. His chakra was draining quickly from the use, but he knew without using his Chidori, there was no way to defeat these shinobi. He opened the door, and walked down the hallway, creeping along the walls. Having been only in four rooms (and though he could see that there was no upstairs in this fortress, he was still unsure at how many shinobi were left, as there could easily be a downstairs), Sasuke was nervous at how much more he would have to fight. His wounds were finally starting the become painful, as the adrenaline fueling his actions before was beginning to wear off.

His arm was cut deeply, a long gash went across his chest, another shinobi had stabbed him in the back, and judging by the way his left arm was tingling, he was pretty sure one of the shinobi had pricked him with a poisoned senbon. He could only hope that it was a weak poison.

He slid open a door, and smirked, seeing a trap-door leading downstairs. But immediately frowned as he saw the surrounding shinobis. And then his blood boiled as he saw one man covered in blood. He had no noticeable wounds on him; Sasuke realized it was someone else's blood. And if his instinct was right, it was _Sakura's_ blood.

"Where is she?" he hissed, glaring at the bloodied man. The man's eyebrows shot up, but he smirked, tapping his foot on the trap door.

"Ah, the pretty little flower? Oh, she's... _hanging _out down there. I gave her some new body designs. You might like the star-shaped pattern across her torso. I was really proud of it. The vermillion looks great with her hair." Something inside of him snapped. His blood boiled, and he felt his chakra spike.

_How dare he?_ Sasuke thought, clenching his fists. He would kill him. He withdrew his sword, sending his Chidori down its blade. And then, he activated his Chidori Current, letting the electrical sparks surround his body.

With that, the four shinobi and the man who tortured Sakura attacked Sasuke. And Sasuke responded ferociously, feeling an anger in his veins that he had not felt in a fight for a very long time. Because this time, he was fighting to protect and save someone. And he had not done that in _years_.

* * *

><p>A ruckus upstairs slowly woke her. Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced around the room wearily. There was no one there. She glanced down, and realized the blood had finally stopped. Still, she was sure she had lost a ridiculously large amount of blood, especially considering the giant puddle around her feet.<p>

Sakura couldn't keep her eyes open. She closed them, deciding it didn't matter who was upstairs or what was going on. She had fainted within a few seconds.

The loud noises woke her up again, though this time, it was closer. She couldn't open her eyes and just tried to listen. Voices were blurry and there was a bustle of activity around her. The voices faded and she drifted out of consciousness again.

The next time she woke up, it was to a flurry of hands cutting her chakra binds.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, get up. Sakura!" The voice was so familiar that she tried to open her heavy eyelids. "Come on, Sakura! I need you to wake up. You need to heal yourself. Come on. Come on!" She let out a deep breath when the bindings fell off around her body. Whoever had cut them had to be strong. Chakra bindings could not be cut by regular tools- that's why when the shinobi cut her down and across the chest, he didn't cut her ties. Chakra ropes could only be cut by chakra.

There was more fumbling around her ankles. She felt the cuffs around them break and free her ankles. Sakura tried to open her eyes, but still couldn't. She slumped forward, and was held back by the chains around her arms. The person unlocking her steadied her with an arm. It was male and the scent was familiar. She leaned into the person, and the arm steadying her wrapped around her back. She felt his hands working on the chain cuffs around her wrists.

The chains jerked her arms and she cried out.

"Sorry, sorry!" The voice told her, still trying to unlock the chains. Finally, they were broken off, and her arms fell to her sides, uselessly. Now, she finally opened her eyes to see the face of Sasuke. He was injured, she could tell, but he looked worried.

"Sakura, do you have any chakra?" She shook her head. "Come on, your seals, Sakura. Your seals!" Sasuke hoisted her closely to her chest, protectively. "We don't have much time, Sakura. I was barely able to escape these guards. They're coming down for us. I don't have enough strength left, Sakura. I need my eyes. The guards are regrouping. We're going to die if they come down here."

"I..." Her voice cracked and faded away. She was hoarse and her throat hurt from the cuts.

"Use your seals, please, for the love of God, use your seals." His voice was desperate.

"Ita...Itachi." Sasuke shook his head; she could feel his chin brush against the top of her head.

"You can't summon him, Sakura. You've explained the jutsu to me. He's probably in the same state you are; he won't be able to fight. You have to use your seals. Damn it, Sakura, use your Creation Rebirth Technique! That's what the seals are there for! _Please_!"

She didn't have any chakra. She couldn't access her seals. She opened her eyes, pleading with him to understand. Sasuke shook his head, his eyes just as desperate.

"When did the great pupil of the Fifth Hokage learn to give up and just roll over and die?" His eyes turned into a glare. "You really are _annoying._" Something in her snapped at those words. _How dare he?_ Sakura narrowed her eyes, and then closed them, deciding that he was right. She had trained for all these years to not depend on anyone else. And if it was up to her to save them; up to her to return the favor and heal Sasuke, then she would do it.

She was a kunoichi, damn it!

"Yin-Seal: Release," Sakura whispered, concentrating what little chakra she could feel returning to her body into the seal on her forehead. It left her winded with the concentration she put into the effort, but almost instantly, she felt the seal open and release her stored chakra.

"Creation Rebirth," Sakura murmured, feeling the relief as her wounds began to rapidly heal. Her arms slowly reformed their tissue and muscle connections. But they were still dislocated. However, she could at least move her fingers and concentrate some of the chakra from her seal into her fingers.

"I can't fight, Sasuke. My arms are useless," Sakura told him, her voice still raspy. She was in a lot of pain, but she looked determined. "They have to be healed by someone else. They are out of socket. However, I can still heal with them. You're right about Itachi. He wouldn't be in any shape to fight right now. Our chakra bond would cause him to be in just as much pain as I am." They could hear the shinobi coming down the steps.

"We don't have any time left, Sakura. I'm tired. And Naruto isn't here. I came back for you. I've been fighting down this place to find you. But... I can't do it much longer." He looked at her, and pointed to his eyes. "I need my eyes back, Sakura."

"But... you can't. You... Not until September. It's too soon."

"You can fix them once we get back! Now, Sakura! They're going to be here-" He made a strangled sound as he looked over her shoulder. "Now!" She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Pick up my arm, Sasuke, and put my hand on your eyes. Now!" Sasuke grabbed her arm, eliciting a scream from Sakura, and he tried to gently pull it. She wailed in pain, bit her lip, and flexed her fingers. Pain radiated up and down her arm, but she fought through it.

Chakra glowed around her fingers and she closed her eyes, concentrating. It was difficult trying to reconnect Sasuke's eye chakra pathways, as well as remove the multiple jutsus she had on his eyes disabling his Sharingan. His pathways were frayed and she didn't have the chakra, time, or concentration to heal them smoothly. Instead, she sort of shoved the disconnected pathways together, quickly sealing them.

"Sasuke, it's going to hurt like a bitch when you access your Sharingan. You might even go blind. It'll burn like _hell_." He nodded, and let her arm drop, making her groan and whine in pain. At that moment, they both looked up to see themselves surrounded.

Sasuke grabbed Sakura and pulled her to his chest. He activated his Sharingan, flipping immediately to his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Amaterasu!" Sakura closed her eyes, feeling the intense heat of the flames spread around them. The shinobi screamed as the flames ate everything it touched, quickly disintegrating them. Glancing up, Sakura saw the blood pouring from Sasuke's eyes, as they twitched and strained with the chakra needed to activate the technique.

Hissing with the effort, Sasuke quelled the flames, leaving charred masses of flesh and bodies in their wake. He closed his eyes, quickly deactivating the jutsu. Sakura looked up at him, watching as he slumped against the wall.

"We have to wait for Naruto," he told her, closing his eyes. "I can't move anywhere. My eyes are on fire." Sakura nodded, slumping against him. "You're a mess," he commented. She glanced down at her state, and nodded, agreeing with him. Her chest bindings were torn and bloodied; there were still long blood streaks across her chest from the cuts; and her shorts were in shreds. Across her face, she was sure there was long tracks of blood.

"I was tortured; what do you expect, Sasuke?" she asked him, leaning against his shoulder. He automatically wrapped his arms around her waist. Too tired to care, Sakura let him be. "Is Naruto on his way?" Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm sure he is. Sakura, I can't do anything else. I haven't used my Sharingan in years. It's used up all my chakra."

"I know. And you shouldn't use it anymore. It'll cause permanent damage next time. It'll probably leave you blind."

"Why? It shouldn't." She shook her head.

"It's not the Eternal Sharingan that would cause it. It's the pathways and torn tissue from my jutsu that would cause it. Without proper healing, your eyes will never recover." He closed his eyes, nodding.

"Then we can only sit here and wait. What about your seals? Don't you have two more?"

"Yeah. But it's no good. The most I can do is use my legs; I don't have very much chakra left. Healing myself and your eyes took the majority of it. But, if someone comes down here again, I should be able to activate the other two seals and use what chakra is left to fight with. Hopefully."

Sakura closed her eyes, feeling her adrenaline fade. She was still in immense pain from her arms, and even with the rapid healing, the nerve pain was still there. She was aching and tired. Groaning, she tried her best not to fall asleep. But she couldn't help it. Both she and Sasuke fell unconscious, exhausted from the events of the day. They weren't safe; but they were safe enough for the moment to rest.

* * *

><p>When Naruto found the base, he could smell the flames and blood. But, he could also feel Sasuke and Sakura's chakra. He wasted no time in rushing in to find them. Everywhere he walked, there were dead bodies littered around. Blood was splattered on every wall, and Naruto finally deemed that the best way to find his two comrades would be to follow the trail of dead bodies and blood.<p>

He approached the stairs wearily, holding his kunai out in front of him. The smell of fire came strongly from the basement, as did blood, and charred flesh. Naruto hesitantly walked down. He could feel Sasuke and Sakura down below- their chakra signature was weak, but their scent was strong.

They were both against the farthest wall, asleep. A puddle of blood surrounded them, and blood covered Sakura. Sasuke had trails of blood from his eyes, and quite a few wounds on his body. Ashen lumps surrounded them, still smoking from the fire. Everything was burnt, even though the floor was stone, as were the walls. It almost looked like a dungeon of sorts.

"Sasuke, Sakura." He made it across the room, and knelt down beside them. "Hey, you two. You guys able to walk?" Sakura opened her eyes and stared at him, not really seeing him. "Sakura-chan?" She smiled weakly, recognizing her best friend.

"I don't think we are," she responded, slumping against Sasuke. "I might be able to. But Sasuke is unconscious. He's going to be that way for a long time."

"I'll help you up, Sakura-chan." He reached down for her hand, and she shook her head.

"I can't move my arms, Naruto. My shoulders are completely broken from the joints. Even though I used my Rebirth technique, and the muscles have reformed, the bone itself is still disconnected. My technique cannot reform bones. Tsunade-sama's may be able to do it, but mine cannot." He nodded, and, making a few hand signs, a clone appeared. Naruto had switched back to his normal form, having seen no danger around them, to conserve his chakra.

His clone picked up Sakura, holding her underneath her knees, while Naruto made another clone to hoist the unconscious Sasuke onto his back. With the two clones carrying his teammates, Naruto led the way out of the fortress. Sakura kept conscious the entire way, trying to keep lookout as much as possible. After all, even though she couldn't use her arms, and she was still in pain, she was determined to do what she could on the mission.

"Naruto, there is something... Something I should tell you," Sakura spoke up, taking a deep breath. "Before we get back to Konoha, I have to fix Sasuke's eyes. I... I healed them and allowed him to use his Sharingan. The dead bodies in that basement... they were from his Amaterasu."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto's voice was horrified. He stopped, looking at her intently. "You broke the terms of his conditions?" Sakura looked down. "Sakura-chan! You know... if Tsunade found out... If the Council found out, he'll... he'll be executed!"

"What could I do, Naruto? We were about to die!" Naruto's jaw clenched and he took a deep breath. "I had... I had no choice."

"As soon as you get enough chakra back, you must hide what you've done. Outside of our team, we tell no one. Not Itachi, not Hinata, no one." She nodded, her lip trembling. "This is literally life or death, Sakura." He had dropped her _-chan_ suffix. She swallowed nervously. "If you don't cover it up..." he left the warning hanging in the air. She closed her eyes. _Sasuke will be killed. _

"Of course, Naruto. I'll fix it." He nodded curtly, and she felt her mouth go dry. She was used to Naruto's easy-going reassurance. Not this cold fear he was portraying. But she understood why. After all, he had worked so long and hard to get Sasuke to rejoin the village. And here she was, practically ruining it all.

They rushed back, Naruto leading the way. He seemed to know where he was going, which was good for them. As they traveled through the high mountains and slid down the muddy hills, they spotted Sai and Kakashi and another Naruto clone. They were coming towards them. The two groups nearly collided on the mountain pass.

"Sakura, what happened? Sasuke?" Kakashi looked them over, wiping the sweat off of his brow. Sakura looked up at the sky, letting the rain hit her face, hoping it would wash off the blood. She knew she looked like a mess.

"I was tortured down there, Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke fought off the guards to save me. I... have to fix his eyes. He used his Eternal Mangekyo to save me." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, clearly disapproving what Sakura had done, even if she hadn't specifically said it. "It was necessary," Sakura told him stiffly, tired of the reproach. Kakashi shook his head, but said nothing.

Instead, he looked back up at the sky, judging the dark sky and the steadily increasing rain. He glanced back at the fortress and then at his team. They were all beaten up, except Naruto. He had a few wounds, but compared to the rest of them, Naruto was fine. Finally, he made his decision.

"Naruto, send a few clones back into the fortress. See if they can find any sort of information. While your clones are searching, we will head to the nearest village or inn and rest." Kakashi frowned, looking back at the members of his team. "Well, that is the ideal plan. However, judging by your conditions and by the fact that there probably isn't a village around for a good fifteen miles or so, I'm not sure what we're going to do." Kakashi held a hand up to shelter his eyes from the rain, scanning the field. "Especially with this rain, the ground is going to be horrid to cross. It'll slow us down considerably."

"We could always rest inside the fortress," Sakura suggested. Kakashi shook his head.

"While the shelter would be nice, we don't have the luxury of staying around here for too long. If a message was sent to reinforcements, they will be here soon to survey the damage. I'd like our team to be long gone when that happens. There is no way we can fight off another squad like that." Frowning, he finally bit his thumb, summoning his dogs. "Pakkun, find us some sort of shelter that is away from here." His dogs nodded and took off, while Kakashi gestured for his team to follow him.

They dashed, it felt like, for forever. This time, they used all the chakra they could to scale the mountains and hills, simply trying to move as fast as possible. It was a rough journey, and all of them slipped and fell into the mud- Naruto's clones included.

As the sky grew darker and darker, the moon even beginning to peak out through the steely-gray clouds, the rain never relented. Instead, it blossomed into a full-out thunderstorm. Torrents of rain made the ground thick with mud- All of them had to use chakra to even walk on the ground so that they wouldn't stick.

It was during this miserable time that Pakkun returned. No one, besides Kakashi, could hear what the dog said over the roaring winds. Kakashi nodded once as a dismissal to his summon, and then began running as fast as possible, gesturing for his team to follow. Sai, Naruto, and the two Naruto clones increased their speed to match Kakashi's. He had to shout to inform them to what was occurring.

"There is a mud slide coming this way! We've got to get out of the area before we're swept away. Pakkun says that there is a cave a little ways from here. About two miles, if that. He said it's decently high up, so we'll have to use our chakra to climb." The team nodded and continued to follow Kakashi's lead.

They heard the mud slide before they saw it. It had obviously picked up strength and speed as it rushed towards them, devouring everything in its wake. Kakashi pointed to the cave (a tight squeeze, they all realized) and the team sped forward.

They couldn't beat the mud slide, though. Kakashi, Naruto, and the Naruto clone holding Sasuke made it to the crevice. Naruto's clone holding Sakura, and Sai, were still climbing when the torrent of mud slammed into the mountain, dragging them under.

Sakura heard a sickening pop, as Naruto's clone exploded from the force of the mud, and felt herself fall. Sai reached, gripping her arms and yanking as hard as he could to bring her to him. Pain ripped through her arms, making white spots blind her vision. Still, he managed to tug her to his chest, holding her tightly.

"Can you use chakra, Sakura?" Sai had to scream the question over the rain, wind, and mud slide that seemed to deafen them.

"Only in my legs!" she told him, already drawing what little remnants of chakra she had left to her feet. He nodded, and gripped her tighter, trying to propel them through the mud with chakra in his own feet. It hardly worked. Holding her with one arm, he used his free hand to grip a nearby mountain rock, and used his chakra to hold himself there.

"Sakura, I'm going to toss you up! Use your chakra to grip the walls of the mountain!" She nodded and braced herself as he threw her upwards. She nearly slipped off of the wall, but her chakra gripped the walls, leaving her dangling upside-down.

"Sai, grab my arms and hoist yourself up!" she yelled down, letting her useless arms dangle towards him. He shook his head, yelling something back to her, though it was drowned out from the storm. Sakura could see his grip slipping. "GRAB THEM!" she howled. He hesitated and lost his grip. That made up his mind and he did his best to jump and grab her arms.

The pain was unbearable. It was hard enough to have someone dangling on your arms normally. But with her arms already aching, and the extra weight on them, Sakura could hardly see straight. She actually lost her grip on the chakra in her feet and began to slip, but regained it quickly. Biting her lip to try and drown out the pain (drawing blood out in the process) she began to walk up the mountain. At the soonest possible moment, Sai swung himself and attached to the wall.

Sakura practically collapsed in relief. She did slump against Sai, to which the boy continued to hold her upright, and they both slowly walked back towards the rest of their team. Naruto was the one to grip her around the waist and drag his female teammate into the cave. Kakashi helped Sai inside the cramped area, and the five had to squish together to fit.

Sasuke was still unconscious- Sakura figured he wouldn't be awake for at least a day- and as she spread out across Sai and Naruto, she knew she wouldn't last long either. Her arms were throbbing, and the pain was making her nauseous.

"With this storm, there is no way we can make it anywhere. We'll have to wait it out in here. And, judging from the state of Sasuke and Sakura, we're not going to be able to make far once the storm does let up. ...Guys, I think we may be at our limit with this mission."

"No way! We can't go back home now!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi frowned, and shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei, we'll fail the mission."

"Part of being a ninja is knowing when to retreat. Two of our members are down; we're all exhausted." He held out a hand to stop Naruto's tirade. "Enough. We'll discuss this further in the morning. For now, let's all go to sleep." Sakura didn't have to be told twice. It wasn't even sleep- she fell unconscious from her exhaustion and pain.

* * *

><p><em>"They didn't find anything." <em>

_"I can send my dogs out to search, but with this rain..." _

_"The trail will go cold?" _

_"And with those two..." _

_"But-" _

_"Nothing to do about it." _

_"One more day." _

She blinked a few times, felt the cold air on her body, and shivered. Her eyes closed and then the pain blossomed through her core, spreading to each limb. She promptly fell unconscious again.

* * *

><p><em>"We can't do anything else. We have to leave." <em>

_"B-but..." _

_"No 'buts'. Especially since neither one has woken up. She's getting worse, too. She won't stop shivering." _

_"I'm not a medic but I think she's got a fever." _

_"We have to go home."_

_"...Fine." _

The voices were so muffled. She didn't even know who was with her anymore. But she did know that she wasn't feeling any better. Instead, she was freezing. And the pain... the pain...

* * *

><p><em>"What about his eyes?" <em>

_"There is nothing to be done about it right now. We have to get her back as soon as possible. As long as Tsunade doesn't check, he'll be fine." _

_"What are we going to say in the report?" _

_"That Sasuke simply saved her. We don't need elaborate detail." _

_"And... do you think we'll make it back in time?" _

_"Of course we will! She's going to be fine! Don't even speak something like that, Sai!" _

She tried to reach a hand out to find him. She had to heal his eyes- they were right. Sasuke had to have his eyes fixed. She had to heal them. Had to... heal...

* * *

><p><em>"We're getting close now. I recognize these trees." <em>

_"I'm just glad we're out of the rain." _

_"You weren't even awake for half of the storm in Earth, Sasuke. If anything, we're the ones ecstatic to be out of the rain. Stupid lazy bastard."_

_"Shut up, Naruto." _

_"Both of you, stop this now. Save your energy. We're going to have to make it back quickly." _

_"Especially since her fever is only getting higher, and not breaking. I think some of her wounds may have been infected." _

_"Impossible. She used her Rebirth technique. Shouldn't that have stopped any infection?" _

_"I'd think so. Unless the infection wasn't where her injured cells are. Say, it was inside her body, away from the damaged cells. It could still be there. But, I don't know. I'm not a medic."_

_"No, none of us are. That's the problem." _

Infection, fever, pain. She was freezing. Why wouldn't they give her any blankets? She was so cold. And what was this about an infection? She was... she was just a bit sleepy. It had been a long time since she was on a mission. Just a little more rest, and she would be fine.

* * *

><p><em>"She should be recovering. It was close. Any later, and I may not have been able to have saved her. The infection is stopped, and I removed all poisons in her system. As for her arms, I fixed them. Boy, they were a mess, too. I've never seen her like this before. She'll be in here for some time." <em>

_"When will she wake up?" _

_"Who knows? Her body is fighting, trying to heal and recover. She's been through a lot." _

_"I hope you wake up soon, Sakura-chan." _

At least it was warm now. But she was still so tired... so, so tired.

* * *

><p><em>"It's almost been a week, Tsunade-sama. Why won't she wake up?" <em>

_"Fix her!" _

_"Naruto, she is fixed. Arata, you look ragged. You should go home and rest. All of you should. The last time you left this room, Naruto, was when Hinata came and dragged you out. She'll wake up soon!" _

_"Guys..." _Her eyes opened, and almost immediately closed from the light. The first person she saw was Sai, when her eyes finally adjusted to the bright room. The next person was Sasuke. Her eyes continued to rove around the room, sluggishly taking in who she saw. Kakashi, Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, and then... there! Itachi.

"How are you doing, Sakura?" Tsunade was the first to ask her. "You've had a pretty rough mission." Sakura felt her lids become heavy. She tried to speak but nothing came out. Itachi was the one to get her water, and help her sip it.

"I'm sorry," she croaked. "We failed."

"Don't worry about that right now, Sakura. Just focus on getting better."

"Itachi," she whispered, reaching out her hand. Everyone in the room flinched at her usage of his name.

"I'm here, Sakura." She smiled as he gripped her hand. "Tsunade-sama is right. Go ahead and rest for now. We will all be here when you wake up. I'm not leaving." She smiled bigger, and nodded, closing her eyes.

It didn't matter that she had failed the mission- the first mission Team Seven had had in years. It didn't matter that they had gotten no information on the jutsu and weapons trade. It didn't matter that she had possibly endangered Sasuke's life by healing his eyes, and never fixing them back to their previous state. It didn't matter that she had been completely useless on the mission once the real fighting started- as if all her training had been for naught. It didn't matter that Sai, Naruto, and Kakashi had to turn around and take her home because she was the one who couldn't function and was on death's door. It didn't matter that she had royally screwed up almost everything on that mission.

Actually, it did matter. It mattered a lot. But for now, she was back in Konoha, with Itachi and all her friends, and that was what mattered to her at the moment.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Yay, a not cliffhanger! This is actually my favorite chapter, I think. I was looking forward to writing this chapter from the very beginning of this story. I loved when Sasuke and Sakura teamed up.<p>

1. The italics at the end of this chapter? If you didn't understand, that was what Sakura was hearing during her sickness. It was mostly Team Seven talking to each other as they traveled back from Earth Country. To explain, she had a really, really high fever and that was why they returned.

2. Why didn't Sakura summon Itachi? I hope I explained this well enough in the chapter, but even after Sakura would have healed herself with her Rebirth technique, Itachi wouldn't have improved that much. And since he seems to share her pain, his arms would have been hurting just as much as hers. He was probably unconscious or drifting in and out of consciousness as she was tortured. However, when she was sick and on her way home, Itachi is shown to be in the hospital waiting for her. I figure by this point, Tsunade has come to him and has given him some sort of pain killer, since he doesn't have any real physical wounds.

3. Why didn't Sakura heal her own arms? After all, she did heal Sasuke's eyes. Well, to answer this, it would be because she couldn't concentrate with the pain. Like Tsunade says, her arms were shattered. Sakura would have needed the utmost concentration to even try and heal her shoulders and arms. Since it hurt so much to move her arms (even when she was healing Sasuke's eyes), there was no way she could have healed herself._  
><em>

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_She failed the mission; Tsunade is not about to let that happen again. Punishment, teams, and training. Tsunade will never let her student fail again._

_**Chapter Twenty: Promises**_

The final arc begins next chapter!

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><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, I'm sorry for the delay. Btw, has anyone seen the new Hunger Games movie? EPICCCCCCCCC movie. :D<p> 


	20. Chapter 20: Promises

So, let me start by apologizing. This should have been posted over a week ago. I usually upload the document and post it the same night. This has been sitting in my document manager for over a week. To explain, I literally had this entire chapter finished and edited. I was signing my name at the end, spelled it wrong, and backspaced. Instead of erasing my mistake, it took me back a page and I lost everything I had just edited. I was so angry I couldn't even look at this story for several days. I know there was an additional few weeks delay for this chapter, again I apologize. Life has been catching up to me, and sort of slammed into me hard. While I'm desperately trying to keep this story on a regular updating schedule, my life events are taking priority right now and I have a lot on my plate. So please bare with me for these final few chapters. I just can't even balance everything equally anymore, so I'm very sorry that this is taking a back-seat to most other events.

Now, onto the chapter! :D

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty: <span>_Promises_

* * *

><p>"What the hell happened to you on that mission, Sakura?" Sakura swallowed hard, looking down at her feet, too ashamed to face her mentor. "I trained you better than that. All the reports from each of your team members agreed that the reason they had to return home was due to you. What is that?" Tsunade was angry. Angry and disappointed and frustrated. "Sakura, I'm not going to coddle you and say, 'Oh, it's okay, it could have been anyone. You couldn't have done any better.' Because that's a lie. I'm going to put it to you bluntly- the failure of that mission was completely your fault." Sakura flinched, feeling as if she'd been punched. Tsunade sighed, running a hand through her hair.<p>

"Damn it, Sakura, I trained you so much better than this. What happened? Chakra binds, really? You should have been paying attention. And even so, I trained you how to break out of chakra binds. You know to draw your chakra away from the binds and then cut them later." Sakura stayed silent, having no words to defend herself. "And then dislocated arms? Sakura, you're a medical ninja! Why couldn't your teammates hold one of your arms while you healed the bone? A little pain couldn't distract you _that_ much, could it?" Tsunade shook her head, clenching her fist.

"...When you came to me, when you were twelve, I was sympathetic to your plight. I saw the talent you had. I knew you could be great. I was right. But I don't train failures. You weren't trained to only be a great medic- you were trained to be a great _kunoichi_. But this," Tsunade held up the mission reports, glaring, "this is _crap_. Is it Itachi? Has he distracted you? Or is it because you're always in the hospital? Or could it be that you just let your training slip?" She looked down, folding her hands together underneath her chin. "The girl I trained was determined to never let Naruto, Kakashi, or Sasuke save her and see her as the weak link again. It was like you forgot everything on this last mission. And it's so unlike you because on every other mission I send you on, you're spectacular. What happened?" Tsunade waited with a raised eyebrow. Sakura swallowed hard, realizing she had to speak now.

"I... I don't know, Tsunade-sama. I don't know what happened. The chakra binds were strong. They were some I had never encountered before. And it was a surprise attack. I was thrown off my game. And I swear to you, those chakra ropes weren't normal. They suppressed my chakra and absorbed it at the same time. I couldn't do what I normally would at the time. And the more I struggled, the more they constricted. By the time Sasuke came to save me, I couldn't even breathe. The ninjas who attacked us had known our weaknesses and targeted them. I'm not like Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai. I don't have an arsenal of techniques even without my chakra."

The two women lapsed into silence as Tsunade gauged her pupil. Sakura fidgeted, trying to hold her ground, but failing miserably. Finally, Tsunade let out a long sigh and reached into her desk, drawing out her sake and cup. She stayed silent as she poured a cup. Looking back up to her pupil, she frowned, and as an afterthought, reached back down and grabbed another cup. Tsunade poured the sake into the cup and handed it to Sakura. She took the cup, figuring it was a peace offering of sorts.

"I know. I'm being harsh on you. It was an important mission and I'm frustrated that we lost our leads. And I'm frustrated that it was your fault. I would have rather it had been Sai's or Kakashi's. You, Naruto, and Sasuke are under so much scrutiny right now that I don't want to see any mistakes from you guys. But, what is done is done. We cannot change the outcome. Nonetheless, you won't be paid for the mission, since you didn't succeed, and you will be put back on the hospital schedule immediately. Also, just for my own benefit, I will be picking up your training again. I won't have any more failures from you, Sakura."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Sakura responded, taking a sip of the sake. "I'll do better next time. I promise." Tsunade nodded, taking her own long drink of the sake.

"Good. I won't have any more of these failures." She waved her hand dismissively, as if switching the subject. "While I have you in here, I wish to discuss some other matters that I've let you skip by for several months now. If you're going to get into trouble, I might as well do it all in one day. We need to discuss your jutsu and everything else you did in reviving Itachi. I don't think I need to remind you that what you did was extraordinarily illegal. Any jutsu involved in reviving the dead has been outlawed in Konoha since Orochimaru. You also broke into a secure room and read documents clearly not meant for you." Tsunade was ticking these offenses off on her fingers as she went. "You hid an S-class criminal's dead body in your house for five months. You forged an identity and lied to the village for over seven months, all while still harboring an S-class criminal. Even if Itachi was a good guy, it does not change the fact that he was still an S-class criminal that you knowingly harbored. And," Tsunade reached out, grabbing Sakura's hands and pulling them to her, "you disobeyed my rule about placing Yin-Seals on your body. I specifically told you one seal only should ever be placed on your body. You added three additional ones." For emphasis, Tsunade traced the green seals on Sakura's inner-wrists. Sakura flinched, swallowing hard.

"I... Tsunade-sama..." Tsunade gave Sakura a long, hard look. She withdrew her hands, and Sakura quickly shoved her palms behind her back, trying to hide them as if it would change something.

"I'm not thrilled, Sakura. Even if you were successful in your jutsu, you broke _a lot_ of laws to do it. If it were ever to get out what you did exactly... You would be ruined. I would be ruined. Naruto and Sasuke and Itachi..."

"But one day, you wanted to tell the truth about the Uchiha Clan to the world. Are you saying we can't do that now?" Tsunade shook her head, pouring herself more sake.

"No. I'm saying that the extent of what you've done cannot be released. If we were ever to tell the public about Itachi, we would have to vaguely explain how he was revived. Blame it on a fluke. A revival jutsu is a dangerous thing- a tool of immeasurable difficulties and problems to come. People will covet you, covet the jutsu, and want it. Look at what the quest for immortality did to Orochimaru. Look at what he did to get what he wanted. You are in that same precarious state, Sakura." Sakura looked down, staring hard into her cup of sake. "I still wish to examine the jutsu. Don't get me wrong; the jutsu is a medical miracle. I'd love to see the different processes you developed while healing Itachi's disease. But, it was still a forbidden jutsu. You know the rules on developing jutsus that involve the dead."

"But, Tsunade-sama, it wasn't like I stole bodies or killed anyone. Any risk was only to myself." Tsunade pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes.

"That is the point, Sakura! Besides, did you ever think of the additional complications of this revival jutsu? So, yes, you can revive the dead. What will people do when they find that out? You will be reviving dead people for the rest of your life. After all, if you revive one dead person, can't you revive another? That is what people will think, and they will be angry- beyond angry- if you refuse to revive their loved one. They will hate and despise you if you can't do it. They will want to kill you because you revived one dead person, but you can't revive their loved deceased? The anguish and pain you will feel at not being able to save everyone... I know you, Sakura, and you can't handle that. Besides that, you would be targeted by other shinobi who desired your jutsu."

"But... Tsunade-sama, I can revive the dead! Shouldn't I try to pass... to pass that knowledge on to others? I mean, isn't that the goal of any medical ninja? To try and do the ultimate and revive the deceased?" Tsunade shook her head. Gently, she grasped Sakura's hands.

"You have been the most promising pupil I have ever taught. You have surpassed me in many ways. But, Sakura Haruno, listen to me, and listen well. Reviving the dead, while it seems to be a majestic thing, is not a good goal. You are warping the most natural laws of the world. By doing this, you are causing more problems than you are solving. Sometimes in the world of science and healing, we must take into account the ethics of what we do. Yes, you don't use sacrifices. And if refined, maybe we can create something spectacular. But, for the moment, your jutsu needs to be kept under wraps and you must never use the jutsu again. Understand?"

"You can't do that to me, Tsunade-sama! I've worked years on that jutsu!" Tsunade frowned, shaking her head. "You said it yourself. We can refine it. We can make it better. If we could revive... everyone, then wouldn't it be okay? Couldn't we... couldn't we use it again?" Tsunade closed her eyes and said nothing. "Please. Please. _Please._"

"Sakura, we will all examine the jutsu and decide. You, Shizune, and myself. We are the top medical kunoichis in the world. If we can... can work out some kinks, we will use it. We may not keep it for its original purpose of reviving the dead, but it is surely a great jutsu for saving lives. Think of it that way." Sakura swallowed hard but nodded.

"Besides," Tsunade began, pouring Sakura more sake in her cup, "if you can remember, Itachi is tied directly to your life. Just think of it in two ways. One, having multiple people tied to your body will put an immense strain on your chakra system. Your chakra will be in multiple people and scattered around- your ability to sense and feel them all would cause you to lose many of your other abilities with chakra. It's too much of a strain on your system. Two, if you were to die with multiple people tied to your life, they would die, too. Don't forget that important part. In a sense, you did use a sacrifice with your jutsu- yourself. It's just a delayed reaction."

"I... I never thought of that."

"I figured you hadn't. And, since we're on this topic of chakra strain, I need to address some issues with Itachi and your bond. If you are not aware, on your past mission, when you became comatose, so did he. With your chakra depletion, he could feel it, too. Neji stayed with him until Itachi woke up a little. I'm assuming that was the time period that Sasuke had just saved you and you had used the Creation Rebirth technique. Neji took that opportunity to get me to examine Itachi. While he was not hospitalized, he was kept under careful scrutiny by myself, Neji, Hinata, and Shizune. When you were dangerously sick, it wasn't that he was also sick, but that he was weak. He had no chakra- it was like with your chakra gone, it depleted his chakra as well. But, the part that I found most interesting was the fact that the seal you two had placed on one another would not work. He tried multiple times to come to you and your seal was never activated. It was as if it was blocked off. I'm assuming part was from the chakra ropes, but after they were removed, I cannot fathom why the seal wouldn't work."

"I'm not sure. I probably have to be conscious to allow it to work. And my chakra was working on what wounds still remained in my body. It is also possible that the chakra binds disrupted our connection with the seal. And unlike my rare ability to transport to him, which I've done before without the use of the seal, I don't believe he has the same ability. It is because my chakra is in him, which is easy for me to sense and read. He cannot easily tune into my chakra signature and transport to it. It would be like trying to transport yourself to someone else's chakra tag." Tsunade nodded, frowning contemplatively.

"We should look into this chakra bond more carefully. Itachi still has not been given a mission since your Team Seven mission because of how weak he was. Tomorrow, I want to see both of you at my house and we will examine everything. I want to see the jutsu, your chakra seals, the chakra bond, everything."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama. What time?"

"Seven. I'll be awake, don't worry. And Sakura, you still aren't getting out of a punishment. I'm going to keep you on hospital duty for quite a while. You'll also be placed on the medical field rotation, which I know you hate. I'm also going to pick up your training, so we're going to be meeting every Wednesday at noon. And every Sunday at five at night. Furthermore, missions with Team Seven will be held off for another few months. And, lastly, I'm going to make you do all the nurse reviews, hospital checks, and I want reports on all the medical standards in the hospital. Furthermore, I want you to hire new medics, train them, and have another training session with the nurses you have now. I also expect to see new security policies about the hospital on my desk in a week. I want all of this done within the next month."

"...Is that it?" Tsunade grinned maliciously.

"Just for the medical part. For the kunoichi half, I'm placing you on mundane missions around the village. When you're not at the hospital, working in the field, or training nurses, I want you catching cats, painting fences, and washing clothes. I also want my scrolls reorganized and I expect to see you in my office every day after your hospital shift. You will be doing paperwork and filing again." She groaned. "Oh, I will work you to the bone, Sakura. And as one last punishment, you will be teaching at the Academy. I want you to work the night shifts at the hospital some nights. Furthermore, I'm going to assign you a genin team. Nothing spectacular, and you will share sensei duties with someone else. With that, I believe I am finished with your punishments. Don't worry, I'll give you a nice schedule tomorrow that has all your activities arranged in an orderly fashion. So, don't forget to be at my home tomorrow with Itachi at seven."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade smirked, pleased at Sakura's grim expression.

"Now, you are dismissed."

* * *

><p>Sakura frowned, placing her hands on Sasuke's temples. Itachi stood in the doorway, watching the two closely. Still, despite the glowing chakra on her hands, her frown remained. Both men were getting concerned with the longer her hands remained, and the more her brow furrowed.<p>

After a good thirty minutes, Sakura removed her hands, her jaw clenched in frustration.

"There is... I can't do anything, Sasuke." Sakura swallowed hard, closing her eyes. "When I quickly reattached your chakra pathways in your eyes, it damaged the pathways because they weren't connected correctly. At this moment, if I were to de-attach them, it's very likely that you would lose the ability to use you Sharingan, or a possibility of causing blindness." Sakura rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. Withdrawing her hands from her eyes, she could clearly see both of Itachi and Sasuke's confused looks. Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Let me try to explain it this way. The chakra pathways in your eyes are like a rope. The rope was perfectly connected when you got your brother's eyes. But when we captured you, about six years ago, I was the one to cut the rope. It was a clean severing, but a thick one. So the rope was split apart. When I cut your chakra pathways that time, I did it in a special way. So, let's say that for the rope, I cut it apart, and then split it in half. In a sense, I quartered them. That's how they remained for the five years you were in prison, and during that time, they healed. Not healed back together, but former edges or, I suppose you could say, scar tissue. Now, when I quickly reattached them a few weeks ago, I didn't get rid of this scar tissue. So, using the rope analogy, it was like taking one of the split pieces of rope on one side and shoving it together with another of the split pieces of rope from the other side, and then tying a knot." Sakura ran a hand through her tangled hair, leaning against the wall, sighing.

"By tying this knot, I never really reattached the rope together. So, when you used your Sharingan, and used one of your strongest moves, the chakra surged through an already damaged chakra pathway. It would be like forcing a river through a pipe the size of a pencil. The chakra pushed and broke parts of your chakra pathways. At this moment in time, you cannot easily activate your Sharingan without feeling blinding pain, correct?" Sasuke nodded. "Now, to fix this problem, I would have to completely re-heal your eyes. Which, let me tell you, would take probably a day to do. That's how severely damaged they are. But, you're both probably thinking, 'That's no problem. Heal his eyes and then sever them like before', right?" Both men nodded.

"Well, remember about that scar tissue I told you about?" They nodded again. "I cannot replicate that. So, yes, I could heal your eyes completely, and then sever them again. Which, that in itself has a major risk. By cutting a rope multiple times, it becomes more and more frayed. And no matter how many times you tie it back together, it continually gets weaker. So, if I were to cut your weakened pathways again, it's likely that when I reattached them, your Sharingan would cause you immense pain and eventually destroy your sight. Despite the fact that the Eternal Sharingan isn't supposed to cause blindness. But, like I was saying before, even if the entire procedure were to work, and I re-severed them like before, a skilled medical ninja, like Tsunade-sama, would be able to tell that it had been a recent procedure because of the lack of scar tissue."

"And why can't you re-sever them now?" Sasuke asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Like I said, the pathways are so damaged now that by cutting them, even a clean cut, would damage them further. The rope is so frayed that it's hardly holding together anymore. If I cut the rope, it'll practically fall apart. That's what will happen to your chakra pathways. And, yet again, Tsunade-sama would be able to tell by the extensive damage done to your pathways that your Sharingan had been activated." Sakura looked at Sasuke, waiting to see what he would decide to do. She had put the entire situation before him and now it was up for him to choose.

"There isn't anything else you can do?" She exhaled deeply, clearly thinking about it, before finally shaking her head. "There has to be something!" Sasuke walked up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, shaking her lightly. "Sakura!" She bit her lip, staring hard into Sasuke's eyes.

"Sakura, there must be something you can do," Itachi spoke up, frowning. She gnawed on her lip, thinking intensely.

"...I may..." she trailed off but both men perked up, looking up at her eagerly. "It's possible that... that if I were to heal your pathways in a different way that... Maybe, if I use the same principles of the Creation Rebirth technique and restore your cells to a pristine condition..." she was mumbling, but still stayed focused on Sasuke's eyes. "Then instead of doing the clean cut, like usual... I could make it less... I could... There just might..." She broke out of Sasuke's hold and began to pace around the room, staring at her feet. Both men sat back, watching her with baited breath. After a tense fifteen minutes, Sakura finally looked up and motioned for Sasuke to follow her. The brothers both followed after the pinkette, curious as to what was going on in her mind. She was obviously in a completely different realm, thinking of things neither of them could comprehend.

Sakura led them down into the basement, directing Sasuke into her personal laboratory. He sat on the bed while she gathered notebooks and pens and a few other tools. Pulling on a pair of latex gloves, she pushed Sasuke back on the bed, and placed both of her index fingers on his eyes. Her chakra filtered into his eye cavities, exploring his chakra pathways and nerves.

It seemed like she was examining him for forever. Finally, after (Itachi had timed) thirty-seven minutes, Sakura withdrew her hands. Without a word, she began to frantically scribble down notes and drawings into her notebook. Both of the males watched her fill up page after page- three pages, four pages, six pages, nine pages.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to face them, seemingly surprised to see them still there. She had been so wrapped up in writing that she had completely forgotten about their presences.

"Did you figure something out?" Itachi asked her. Sakura nodded, sitting down on her chair. "Well, what is it?"

"This is all theory. So it may or may not work. But, I think that if I use the same principle as my Creation Rebirth technique, I can speed up the growth of your cells. Then, by taking those cells and replicating them again and again, I can build up your chakra pathways to make them even stronger than before. And then, by using my chakra, I'll try to melt the different chakra pathway layers into one cohesive layer. I think it should be the same type of thing as fusing skin together. Finally, when I go to cut them, I'm not going to cut them exactly the same way as last time. I'll sort of snip them apart, and then I'll use my chakra to heal the edges. So, technically, your chakra pathways would actually be able to mend themselves back together with time. And, yet again, if Tsunade-sama examined your eyes, she would easily be able to tell what had happened. But, let's try not to let her know."

"When can you do this procedure?" Sakura looked up at the clock, seeing it was only seven o'clock, and turned back to him.

"Now. Before I lose most of chakra with Tsunade's tasks."

"You have this all planned out?" Sasuke asked. Sakura gave a smile, shaking her head.

"Mm... Not exactly. I work best on the fly. Let's wing this!" There was a gleam in Sakura's jade eyes that made Sasuke hesitant to refuse, even with a nagging fear in his stomach. Still, if there was one woman he trusted with his eyes, it would be the woman that had freaking replicated those eyes before.

"Why can't you replicate my eyes?" he asked her. Sakura frowned, pushing him back on the bed.

"Because you're not dead, so that means I can't mess up. And, while I could replicate your eyes from the cells, much like I did with your brother, it would be extremely hard to connect your eyes. For one, you've already had an eye surgery that replaced your eyes, and it was from a man who wasn't even a medical ninja. Therefore, even now, your eyes are... wired oddly. So, if I were to remove these eyes, and then place in your brother's replicated eyes, and re-wire them (the correct way) I'm not sure what will happen with your nerves. They would have been disconnect and reconnected too many times. It's just a risk I'm not willing to take until absolutely necessary. Now, shut up because I'm about to knock your unconscious for this procedure."

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><p>His eyes had a strange burning feeling in them, but nothing like before. He couldn't feel his chakra flowing, so he knew that she had disconnected his eyes.<p>

Slowly, he opened them. Everything was dark in his room; at first he thought she had wrapped a bandage around his eyes, but upon feeling his face, he realized she had not. It was just that his room was dark with his curtains drawn.

"Ah, you're awake," Sakura spoke, opening his door. The light from the hallway momentarily blinded him, and he winced, closing his eyes. "Your eyes are going to be very sensitive to light for a few days. I brought you a cup filled with broth, so you can drink it and you don't have to try and feed yourself."

"What time is it?" Sasuke asked, taking the cup. He gingerly sipped it, watching as Sakura yawned.

"Um, well... It's about one o'clock in the morning. I'm going to go to bed; Itachi is going to stay up with you, though. G'night, Sasuke-kun." The suffix slipped out without a second-thought. Both occupants in the room stopped. Sakura's shoulders stiffened, and she could hear Sasuke stop drinking his soup. It was a past habit. It was something she hadn't done the entire seven months that Sasuke had been living with them. She hardly called Itachi _Itachi-kun_, like that. It was definitely a past habit resurfacing. "Goodnight, Sasuke," Sakura repeated, correcting herself gruffly.

"Goodnight." She slipped out of the room, practically flying to her bedroom. Something about using that suffix scared her to no end. It was a flashback to a period in her life that, in a relationship aspect, she would never want to return to.

And yet, it had slipped out so naturally. There was no denying the complacent feelings she felt for Sasuke. He was easy to live with. He was... so changed. She had a soft spot for him, a faded lingering of feelings that would never go away. Sakura had always had a soft heart- there was no doubt that in some part of her, she would always love Sasuke, just... not in the way she loved Itachi.

She supposed if she was being completely honest with herself, Sasuke would be the man she would possibly date if Itachi were to die or leave her. Well... there were several men Sakura would sort of consider to date- Sasuke, Sai, Gaara... But, yet, she knew in her heart, Sasuke and Sai would always be like brothers, and there was no way she would ever be able to move to Suna for a man. Konoha was her home.

And Itachi was the man she loved. Not Sasuke, Sai, Gaara, or any other male she would meet. At this point and time, she loved Itachi. And for now, that was what mattered.

* * *

><p>Itachi and Sakura hesitantly approached the Hokage's Residence, looking up at the tall building. Sakura swallowed hard, before knocking. It took a few minutes before Tsunade finally answered the door. She let the two shinobi come in, leading them upstairs to her personal study.<p>

Sakura closed her eyes, and despite her nervousness, she smiled once inside the room. This had been the room she had spent many of days at in her youth. Tsunade had trained her in this room and had let her read multiple medical ninjutsu scrolls in this room. It held a lot of good memories and reminded her of why she thought of Tsunade as her mother. It had been much too long since the last time she was in there.

"Now, before Shizune gets here, I'm going to examine Itachi. Then I will examine Sakura. I'm going to compare your chakra systems and by using your notes, I will see what you've done." Tsunade held out her hand and Sakura dutifully handed over her notebooks and scrolls. It took the Hokage a few minutes to read through the notes, but she seemed to get a general idea of the procedure.

Tsunade gestured for Itachi to sit in one of her chairs. He closed his eyes as her chakra filled in through his system. It was different from Sakura's chakra; just as soft and comforting as her chakra, that was for sure, but it was still different. Possibly since his body had gotten used to Sakura's chakra, or because her chakra was infused in his cells, he liked Sakura's chakra more than Tsunade's. But, yet, Tsunade still had a very... nice chakra. He figured that it was a sign of a great medical ninja when their chakra was pleasant to feel, instead of invasive like so many other chakra signatures.

He wasn't sure how long Tsunade examined him, as she kept breaking her concentration to speak to Sakura. They spoke in medical terms, and while he was a ridiculously intelligent person, he truly didn't care to listen to their conversation about his body. He listened to his girlfriend enough about medical practices; he was feeling lazy and just didn't want to try and follow along with their conversation.

"This chakra seal in genius. Obviously inspired by Naruto's seal."

"Oh, definitely. But I created the two-funnel way system to filter out his chakra versus my chakra."

"How? It looks like you took your chakra and... ooh, these markings are interesting. Ah, I see how. You kept your chakra marked and made it rigid and unmoving."

"Exactly. With the seal markings, I could control where to place my chakra exactly. And then with the jutsu I used, it was already a type of old seal that sort of stored chakra. But, much like Naruto's seal that has that special regulation factor in it, to where he can't use too much of the Kyuubi chakra without breaking the markings- well, I replicated that, too."

"I see. I'm interested in this character here. It looks like a medical symbol, but mixed with the symbols for regulation of chakra." Sakura nodded, leaning over to examine the symbol Tsunade was touching on Itachi's torso. With the activation of chakra, the entire seal Sakura had implanted onto Itachi was showing. Instead of the tiny green circle with a cross, it was now an elaborate, large, spiraling circle and cross with markings and characters wrapped around the edges and within the circle.

"It's to help keep our chakra signatures separated." Tsunade "hmm"-ed in response, looking at the seal carefully.

"You're very skilled in Fuinjutsu, which is surprising. Most people don't have a natural talent for sealing techniques."

"It's all about reading chakra patterns and combining symbols, you know? I've always been good in the mathematical and book aspect of being a shinobi. This was just right up my alley." With a few hand seals, the seal faded back to its regular form, and Tsunade continued examining Itachi. She praised Sakura's replicated lungs, as well as Sakura's ability to implant a new DNA sequence without the disease.

"Have you found any off side effects from tampering with his DNA?"

"Well... nothing apparent. I thought I was able to isolate the poorly coded sequences and, by using my own DNA, I coded the mis-coded parts. I did implant them into cells and force the cells to replicate so that I could see the effects. It's why the DNA coding took me the longest out of the entire project."

"The jutsu you used to isolate the problematic DNA is quite revolutionary. However, I'm sure you're aware it would never work on a living person." Sakura bit her lip and nodded. "Tampering with live DNA would surely alter several different things in a person. Probably enzyme regulation and protein production. To screw around with a code so precious in a living person is dangerous."

"I could always examine a DNA code from a person's cell, and then after several tests, replant the perfect code back into the person. Wouldn't that be the perfect way to fix nearly every disease?"

"In theory, yes. But how could you implant a DNA code into a living person, when they already have cells reproducing another code? I think there would be more problems with this jutsu at the moment that we have to work on fixing. However, this is possibly the most revolutionary aspect of your revival jutsu. We're going to work on this jutsu and try to perfect it." Tsunade withdrew her hands away from Itachi completely, turning to face her student.

"As for replicating organs, I expect you to begin teaching this jutsu to your advance nurses. I want this to become a staple in the hospital. Lung, heart, heck, even leg and limbs... This type of regeneration would be splendid. Shinobis that have lost part of their body would be able to grow a new limb and have it reattached. They could go back into the field." Sakura beamed, proud of the success of the jutsu.

"All in all, you did a fantastic part in the prep of his body. His eyes seem to be working great, at that. However, I do not understand how you revived him. Even with your notes, it still seems like a fluke that it worked." Sakura frowned, having nothing to say in response. "This _life-force_ chakra seems strange. I understand that you saw the jutsu Chiyo performed to revive Gaara, so this is obviously where you got the idea, correct?"

"Yeah. The chakra... it is... I don't know how to explain it. Ever since that day, I haven't been able to accurately replicate it. I have to take my chakra and convert it to this life-force. But to do it, it takes several hundred hand seals and precise chakra control." Tsunade nodded, looking through Sakura's notes.

"Yes. I see the hand seals, but how did you even find this out?"

"Well, part was from what I remembered with Chiyo-baa-sama, but the other half was what I learned. Certain seals correspond with certain jutsus and by using certain combinations, I figured out what was needed to send me closer and closer to... well... to the edge. Careful meditation and super precise chakra amounts had to be used, too. I did a lot of research and practice. Part of it was also from what I had learned with my animals. A lot of the hand signs are combinations of medical jutsus and other techniques of the sort. By tweaking them slightly and using what I had observed from Chiyo's jutsu... well, everything just sort of came together in the correct way."

"Could you remake this jutsu? How did you know this specific combination would work?"

"Trial and error. Research. Time. Effort. Luck. Isn't that how all jutsus are accomplished?"

"It still seems... problematic. I don't think it can be replicated, Sakura. This is just one aspect of your revival jutsu that just doesn't seem like it can be done over and over again. Nonetheless, you still accomplished it once, and that is to be commended. At that, let me compare your chakra bond to Itachi's. We need to try and find a solution to how you two are so closely tied to one another." Sakura nodded, sitting down next to her boyfriend. Tsunade worked in silence, examining both of them.

While Itachi could feel subtle differences in Tsunade's tests (how she was probing and poking with her chakra) it was Sakura that was noticeably squirming. He realized his girlfriend was a lot more sensitive to chakra than most people were.

It seemed simple enough, until Tsunade did something and both of them jumped, feeling as if they had been electrically shocked.

"Ah hah! So I can't try to separate your chakra signatures. As of right now, they are so closely intertwined with each other, that even when I try to take them apart, it's a painful tear. Then they automatically tie back together. So, unless I can figure out something else, you two are stuck together with your chakra connection forever. I'll look into it, though." Tsunade stood up, waving a dismissive hand. She turned away and walked towards a desk. "Sakura, I have your schedule."

As Tsunade rummaged around in her desk, Itachi smoothed down his shirt, clearing his throat to get Tsunade's attention.

"Yes?"

"What did you discuss with the other Kages about my brother and myself back in January?" Tsunade looked at him sharply, her hands stalling. "I know that they would not simply accept that explanation. You had to elaborate or make some sort of story to explain my appearance. You also had to strike some sort of deal for my brother's freedom. And my own." Tsunade stood up straight, sighing.

"Sometimes, I wish you weren't a prodigy who remembers everything. Other shinobi wouldn't have waited so many months to speak to me about it, but I understand why you waited. And I suppose you do have a right to know. I wasn't really intending to tell you... but... I did tell myself that if you asked, I owed it to you to explain. It does involve you, after all." Tsunade moved to stand in front of her desk and face the two shinobi.

"It wasn't exactly... Your story didn't appease them in the correct way. They were... well... furious." Tsunade took a deep breath, closing her eyes, recalling the event and repeating it to them.

_**Tsunade looked back at the Kages, as they watched the door close behind Sasuke and Itachi. The entire room lapsed into silence, and they all waited. Finally, finding that a sufficient enough time had passed, the three other Kages turned to Tsunade. **_

_**"So, Tsunade-sama, explain?" Mei was the first to speak. "I'm not sure I know how to feel about having an S-class criminal, former Akatsuki member, and known killer of the Uchiha Clan stroll into this room and proclaim his brother's innocence." **_

_**"And, the fact that Sasuke, the man who proclaimed that his life's destiny was to kill his brother, is fine with the fact that his brother is back in his life? And, at that, his brother is the reason that he returned to Konoha?" Gaara continued, interlacing his fingers together. **_

_**"What is going on, Godaime?" A asked her, glaring. Tsunade took a deep breath, closing her eyes. **_

_**"Sometimes, those boys make everything worse," she grumbled. "Yes, there is a lot... a lot to tell. Let's start with the facts, I suppose. Yes, Itachi Uchiha did kill his entire clan. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha, up until the time he was sixteen, vowed to kill his brother. Yes, Sasuke did kill his brother. But... everything else... is not exactly how it seems." **_

_**"Elaborate." Tsunade winced, biting her lip. "If you don't want us to pursue both men, you better begin to explain why Itachi is alive and accepted in your village, as well as the reason Sasuke is accepted back into your ranks," Mei told her. **_

_**"I cannot go into all the details, please understand that much. I can only give you... a bit of what has happened. To begin with, Itachi has always been a loyal Konoha shinobi. He was forced by Danzo, who manipulated the Council and the Third Hokage, into killing off the Uchiha Clan. Second, he spared his little brother because he could not bring himself to kill Sasuke. Third, Itachi became a double agent in the Akatsuki, and always looked out to protect Naruto, Sasuke, and the village from the organization. That is why, when Itachi died, Akatsuki attacked." **_

_**"Why was the Uchiha Clan killed?" Gaara asked. Tsunade shook her head. **_

_**"There are some things that I cannot elaborate on. This is one of those issues. Please, let me tell you all the information I can; let there be no questions." All three Kages nodded.**_

_**"Sasuke did kill his brother. Afterward, Tobi told Sasuke the truth about his brother, and Sasuke became filled with hate towards Konoha. When we captured Sasuke, he was still in this state. As agreed upon, we kept him captive, without a definite date of execution released. However, within the leaders of the village, we agreed to execute him within ten years if there was no reform spotted." The other Kages nodded, following her story. **_

_**"Well, when Itachi was revived, he assumed another identity. My student checked him out and declared he was not Itachi Uchiha, despite the physical similarities. Eventually, he revealed his true identity about seven months after being revived. By this time, he was a trusted member of ANBU and of the village. He had several friends and was well liked by most. Knowing his history, I let him keep his fake identity and he now lives in the village. Eventually, he went to Sasuke and revealed the truth of his identity to his brother, convincing his brother to rejoin the village and be on the good side." **_

_**"So... Everything we've ever known about Itachi Uchiha was a lie?" Mei asked, frowning deeply. Tsunade shrugged.**_

_**"Half and half. He truly was one of the strongest shinobi to have ever lived. He did murder his clan. He was dangerous to those he chose as his enemies. But, he was a gentle soul and didn't like to kill. He would never harm those without a definite reason." They all fell silent, mulling over the facts. **_

_**"What do you propose we do?" Gaara asked the other two Kages, turning to face A and Mei. Tsunade watched them pensively. **_

_**"Well..."**_

"They decided to monitor your behavior, both yours and Sasuke. For now, they are giving us the benefit of the doubt and letting me have the say on you two, since you are in my village. However, whenever you two are to be in any teams with their shinobi, or you two are to be at public functions with members of the shinobi from the other villages, they must have notice. Furthermore, should any problems arise from you or Sasuke, the fate of both of you are out of mine, and Naruto's, hands. It goes directly to an international matter and the other four Kages will discuss what to do. And be warned, most of them are looking towards the death penalty towards you two. Well, you may be saved, but Sasuke would assuredly be executed. You have the advantage of having good actions during the Fourth World War, and with me vouching for your innocence, your name has been cleared a little more. Not completely, but decently."

"I understand. That's a reasonably decent deal. I do not believe that we will get into any trouble, though."

"...You can only hope," Tsunade remarked, sighing. Turning away from them, she picked up Sakura's schedule and tossed it to the kunoichi. "Look over that; make sure you follow it, too, Sakura." She nodded. "Shizune must not be coming in immediately today. Soon enough, we'll all get together and look over this jutsu and see what we can do. But with the Hyuuga Clan going through its change, I'd rather put this off until a more peaceful time." Tsunade waved the two away. "Go get some work done or something. And on Thursday, Sakura, you will be meeting your genin team. Now, that's all. I'll probably give you a mission in the upcoming days, Itachi. Later." The two bowed and quickly left.

Outside, Sakura unrolled the scroll, groaning. Itachi looked over her shoulder, and couldn't help but smirk at her schedule. He could only admit that it was what she deserved for failing her mission. Granted, he would never tell her that, but it was funny, nonetheless. He was simply happy that Tsunade wasn't _his_ mentor.

_Monday- Hospital shift: 9-5; Hokage's office: 5-9_

_Tuesday- Hospital shift: 6-10; Academy course on medical jutsu: 10:30-2; Hokage's office: 3-7; Hospital shift: 8-1_

_Wednesday: Nurse training: 9-12; Training with me: 12-4; Hospital shift: 5-11_

_Thursday: Hospital shift: 6-10; Genin Team: 10-4; Hokage's office: 5-9; Hospital shift: 9-5_

_Friday: Academy teaching: 9-12; Mission day with genin team: 12-6; Hokage's office: 6-9_

_Saturday: Nurse training: 7-12; Hospital shift: 12-6; Genin team: 6-9_

_Sunday: Hospital shift: 9-5; My training: 5-9_

_During this time, you will most likely have medical field missions. They will usually be scheduled at night, or during your hospital shifts. Have fun~ _

"Rather harsh. How about some lunch to enjoy on your last day of freedom?" Sakura groaned again, but nodded. She needed the last few minutes she'd get to spend with her boyfriend to count for the next few weeks. Next few weeks of hell.

* * *

><p>She was slammed across the field again, cracking a few rocks as she landed. Her eyes closed and she wondered how to escape this <em>hell<em>.

She had no time to wonder, though, as a fist pounded her from above, crushing her internal body, she was sure. Her ribs caved in, pain flooding every nerve in her body. Tears welled up in her eyes and she knew she was going to die. Blood pooled out from her mouth, and she coughed it up in large quantities. Her hand shakily clutched the ground, trying to gather enough strength to push herself up to fight.

A heel came down on her back, sending her spiraling back into the ground. The impact made a large crater, splitting all across the field. Her spine felt as if it had been shattered. Groaning, she reached down to heal herself, but her arms were suddenly grabbed, forced backwards.

"No! No healing with your hands! That was your problem last time! Learn how to heal without hands or seals or anything like that! Life or death, Sakura! Your hands are all that separate a medic and a team from destruction! But you're not like them! No hands! No hands!"

_But you can't even heal without using your hands. You can't do it..._

"Again! Concentrate!" She was thrown across the training field, landing into a large tree, watching as it splintered around her. Sakura was ready to fall unconscious.

This was how she learned, though. Practicing only got her so far. It was these life-or-death, work-you-till-you-cry training sessions that brought out her true strength. She hadn't learned how to punch like Tsunade by practice. She had learned it by fear- by Tsunade hitting her enough times and nearly killing her, that the one time she got angry and scared enough, she mimicked her teacher and punched back. She hadn't learned the Rebirth technique by Tsunade simply telling her. She had learned it on the battlefield, when she was bleeding and wounds were gaping and she couldn't do _anything_. She always learned better when it was down the wire, and unfortunately, Tsunade knew this.

"Come on! Weakling! Fight! Do something!" Sakura was hit across the face, her jaw shattering from Tsunade's fist. She fell to the ground with a thump, her head laying there listlessly. A foot came down, placing pressure on her cracked ribs.

"This is my pupil? Pathetic! Here I am, a sixty year-old woman, pummeling a twenty-three year old. How disgraceful. Why did I even bother training you?" Her foot added more pressure, making Sakura tear up. Pain welled through her chest. "Really? No wonder Sasuke left that time. No wonder Naruto left. And just think, soon enough, Itachi will leave you, too. Isn't that all you do, Sakura? Drive away the men you love? You lost Sasuke, you pushed Naruto away, and soon enough, you'll do the same to Itachi. You're just... _useless_."

Her eyes snapped open and a fury like no other overcame her. Sakura Haruno wasn't like that any more. She wasn't... she wasn't that girl! Tsunade smirked seeing a fire in her pupil's eyes, and ground her heel into Sakura's chest, making her choke up more blood.

"Too weak!" Sakura, letting the tears stream down her face, pulled all the chakra she could to her center where the pain was the greatest. It shouldn't be hard, right? It should be the same practice as any other jutsu. It wasn't like she couldn't already put her chakra into a ball shaped form- that's what she did for light jutsu, and the occasional medical jutsu. This was the same thing, except inside her.

It would be like combining her Rebirth technique with a regular healing practice. There shouldn't be a problem. She wasn't like Tsunade. She was _better_ than Tsunade!

Chakra welled up at her core, and she felt it. It slowly mended her ribs back together, just as if she had had a hand guiding the chakra to the cracked areas. Tsunade seemed to see her doing something and stepped off of her, watching curiously. A few minutes later, Sakura stood up, letting the chakra move up to heal her broken jaw.

Steam fell off of her in waves, but her cuts and bruises were fading. Tsunade watched on in awe, smiling proudly.

"It always works. Always does." Sakura smiled back, opened her mouth to say something, and then promptly fainted.

* * *

><p>She couldn't do the jutsu again, no matter how many times she tried, or she was pounded to an inch of life. It had been a fluke, and she wasn't sure how to re-do that same perfect jutsu. The same type of jutsu that the Shodaime had accomplished- the same jutsu that no one except him had ever been able to do. The only shinobi in history that could heal his wounds without any hand signs. Without even <em>touching<em> his wounds, he could heal them.

Sakura _had_ to learn the jutsu. To create it. She could take it to levels that the First Hokage hadn't even _dreamed_ of. If she could do it to herself, and Tsunade could do it, they could manipulate the chakra. Heal from a distance. Heal her teammates without even touching them. She could stay in a tree and heal everyone from afar. The ultimate medical ninja. It was... it was so close!

But she couldn't do it again. Tsunade had pounded her, beat her, spit at her, crushed nearly every bone in her body, but she couldn't replicate it. Sakura had no idea how to do it again, either. But, at the end of the practice, Tsunade wasn't angry. Instead, she seemed thrilled.

_"A few more practices, Sakura! You'll have the jutsu down. I am not lying when I say you have the best chakra control out of any shinobi I have ever known. There is no medical jutsu you cannot do, create, or accomplish with your abilities. Sky is the limit for you." _

She only wished that she could do the damn jutsu again. In time, though. She would do it in time.

But, at this current moment, she had more important things to focus on, instead of the jutsu. Running a hand through her tousled locks, Sakura jogged to the Academy. Blood was splattered on her medical uniform from an emergency that had happened right around nine o'clock. It was already five minutes past ten, but she thought she had done a wonderful job with healing an entire squad and stabilizing them within an hour.

She could see her new team sitting around a swing, waiting impatiently. Sakura dashed to them, jumping over the fence and landing in front of them. She smoothed down her medical outfit, straightening her jounin vest (which she had thrown on over top of her uniform as she left) for extra effect.

"Hello there!" She smiled brightly, trying to appear open towards her new students. This was the first time she was going to have a genin team- the responsibility hadn't really hit her yet, simply because she was so overworked. Dealing with one day at a time had become her motto for the past few days.

Still, she wasn't worried. All the genin respected and loved her. She was the one that saved everyone. She was the pink-haired angel; Konoha's healing grace; the best sight to see on a battlefield. And she had always had a knack with children. The genin team shouldn't be any problem.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. I'll be your sensei from now on." She was expecting smiles back. Instead, the three genin gave her stony looks. That did throw her a bit off of her game. "I, um, hope we get along? Let's start with an introduction game! We'll all go around and introduce ourselves. Tell me your names, what you're good at, and what your goals and dreams are!" Their looks were increasingly getting more hostile. "Well, uhh, I am also the director of the hospital, as well as your sensei-"

"We _know_." The first words spoken. Her eyes widened as she finally took in the three. As traditional, there were two boys and one girl. She had yet to get a folder on their stats, and she didn't know anything about them, so she was really going into this blank. Sakura was nearly positive that it was done on purpose by her mentor. It was another bit of punishment- going in unprepared for something important like this.

The boy that had spoken up was the tallest. He was handsome enough, she supposed. Most girls probably had crushes on him. He had dusty blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a slimmer physique. His hair was a bit haphazard and messy- as if he ran a hand through it after he woke up. Sakura couldn't deny that his eyes were beautiful. They were shining in the light, but they were dark, as if the color of the forest. They were framed with long eyelashes. But, with his childish face screwed in such a sour look, Sakura wasn't thrilled to look at him.

The girl in the middle had her face in a dour look, just like the other two boys. She had choppy black hair, large brown eyes, and a thin physique. She looked like she would be a great dancer with how long and thin she was. But at the same time, she could easily pose as a boy with her short hair, boyish features, and scuffed skin.

The final boy was cute and short. He was a bit chunky, even for a ninja, but he would have a sweet face if it wasn't as hateful as the others'. His bright blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and his pale blue eyes were framed with girlishly long eyelashes. He looked the most feminine out of the entire group, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. He reminded her of a chubbier, younger Deidara.

Sakura had fallen silent after their clipped responses. She was finding it hard to be cheery with them glaring at her. Especially after such a rough day at the hospital, and then a rough week. She had been beaten to a pulp yesterday, again, and again, and again. She was sore all over. She was tired and exhausted from today.

"Well," Sakura tried again, "I dream of becoming the best medical ninja in the world and staying close to all my friends for the rest of my life! And I am good at, obviously, medical ninjutsu. Though that's not all I'm good at. I'm very strong, my chakra control is some of the best in the world, and I'm excellent at seeing through genjutsus."

"Good for you," the girl retorted. Sakura flinched, her eyes narrowing.

"What are your names?" Sakura kept up her light-hearted speech, though.

"I'm Hideyo." The tall one spoke up.

"Fuuka." The girl.

"Akihiko." The last boy.

"And what else about you?" Sakura asked, feeling a bit of relief mixed with frustration. They had told her their names, which was a step. But yet, they weren't very forthcoming about it.

"Nothing you care about, Miss Haruno." Their voices were so bitter and nasty. Sakura felt her patience snap. She didn't have to deal with this... didn't have to deal with little snot-nosed, nasty-mouthed _brats._

"Excuse me? I don't know what your problem is with me. I haven't even met you. If you're going to act like this, you can kiss your shinobi career goodbye. Once I speak to Tsunade-sama, you three will lose your positions. Understand that?" Her voice changed from the bright, cheeriness that she had been using into something flat and annoyed.

She was expecting them to falter and to succumb to her will. But instead, they bristled, glaring even more at her. Sakura was baffled.

"...Everyone says you're so great. But you couldn't save him."

"Huh?"

"Our sensei! He was... we were in a... a mission and we made it back home. But you didn't save him!" Sakura's mind went blank. She hadn't lost a patient in a long, long time. There was nothing that stood out in her mind, and she always remembered her patients.

"But... I... didn't." The girl and the taller boy got tears in their eyes, looking down. It was the feminine boy that began to speak.

"It was during the time you were sick. Everyone in the village heard about your illness. You were unconscious for over a week, on the verge of death for a few days. And because of you, everyone was focused on _you_ and _your _team. The hospital... it depends on you!" And with that outburst, the boy began to cry. Sakura gaped at them, feeling as if she had been slapped.

"I had... no idea." She had no words to console them because she was completely overwhelmed. Then, inside, she felt a glimmer of anger at Tsunade. Once more, her mentor was punishing her with a grieving genin team that had lost their sensei. A sensei that was killed over the time with Sakura's own major failure. She closed her eyes, wanting more than ever to kill her sadistic mentor.

"Sakura!" Sakura turned around, hopeful at some sort of cavalry coming to rescue her. She recognized Iruka's voice and she was praying that he was coming to tell her that this was a horrible mistake and that this really wasn't her genin team. "Sakura! You never got the files."

"I noticed," she replied flatly. Iruka gestured for her to step away from the team. At a sufficient distance away, he handed her the files on the team (Team Four, it was named) and Sakura flipped through them.

"They actually graduated a few months ago and they were one of the most promising genin teams of this generation. All three were top of the class in some sort of field. Fuuka is skilled in ninjutsu, Hideyo skilled in genjutsu, and Akihiko skilled in taijutsu. Their sensei was working on developing their own individual combat skills. It was promising. But... well, Tsunade gave them a C-rank escort mission out of the village. It was a fluke occurrence, but they wandered too far into rogue nin territory. Their sensei didn't make it back."

"They said he did. That he died in the hospital." Iruka nodded.

"True, he did make it back to the village technically alive. But... even when Tsunade was pulled in to heal him, everyone knew there was nothing to be done. She tried, let me tell you, but it was to no avail. He had already lost his organ function, and because of a lack of oxygen, they couldn't even sense brain function. If he had lived, he never would have recovered." Sakura nodded. She had encountered those hopeless cases quite a few times before. Sometimes, people were simply dead before they arrived, even if they were still breathing. She never counted that as her own personal failure if she couldn't save them. She couldn't perform _that_ many miracles.

"They blame me."

"It's easy to blame you. The woman who was ill during the time and couldn't heal their sensei? And then, when they heard that you were going to be their new sensei? Of course, it was so simple to blame you. It's not your fault, but they are grieving." Sakura nodded, looking through the files. At least now she saw their skills and their previous missions. She had something to work with. "Your co-sensei will be arriving soon. But you know that already, right?" Sakura looked up at him, confused. "Tsunade didn't tell you that either, huh? You're really in the dark about this."

"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura muttered. Iruka sighed, shrugging.

"Because of your busy schedule, Tsunade is letting another jounin co-sensei this group. She didn't tell me who your partner is, but she said you know him very well. He's a new jounin, apparently, but she's sure of his skills. Said this would be a great training exercise for him." Sakura's mind blanked. She had no idea who Tsunade had in mind.

"I don't know very many new jounins. No idea. I guess it'll be another added surprise, huh?" Sakura sighed and shrugged. It was at this time that a sudden figure appeared beside the team. Iruka and Sakura tensed, looking over.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here? Is something wrong with Arata or Naruto?" Sakura called, rushing over. He gave her a confused look.

"No... Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" She shook her head.

"I told you about me getting a new genin team. This is the day I meet them. This is my team." Sasuke looked carefully between her and the team, and then back to a few files he held in his hands. Slowly a grin spread across his face.

"Tsunade mentioned I'd be working with another jounin for this mission. She said I was training a genin team; it was part of my punishment, I guess, from the other Kages. Something about teaching me people skills and responsibility. I didn't expect that I'd be teamed up with _you._" Sakura's grin turned absolutely radiant at the idea that she and Sasuke were a sensei team.

"This is awesome!" She slung an arm around her teammate. "Maybe Tsunade-sama isn't as bad as I thought!" Smiling, she turned back to her genin team. "Iruka-sensei, I think I understand now. We'll be able to take care of this, I think." Iruka nodded, and walked away. "Sasuke, have you read their files?" He nodded. Smiling, having regained her cheer, Sakura turned back to the three gloomy genin.

"Okay, let's start over again. This time, I'm going to prelude with this. I'm sorry about what happened to your sensei. But, I can tell you this. Tsunade-sama worked hard to save him. Sometimes, no matter how great a medic a person is, you can't save someone. But, your sensei gave his life trying to protect you three, and you need to respect that. And what I mean is this: you need to be willing to work with us. We're not here to replace your sensei. We're simply here to continue your training so that you'll be just as good as he was; no, better than him; one day. But to do that, we all have to work together. Understand?" They nodded, finally lessening their glare.

"I'll let you in on a secret. The day when your sensei was in the hospital, everyone wasn't distracted with me because I was sick. Tsunade-sama just told everyone that. I was in a coma. I... I understand failure and messed up missions. I made my entire team fail a very important mission. I got captured and tortured and when I was finally rescued, we had to go home because I couldn't do anything." Sakura clenched her fist, looking at them. "I want to get stronger, too. So let's get stronger together, right? So we don't have to repeat the mistakes of our past!"

"...You fail, too?" It was Fuuka that spoke up. "Everyone says you're so strong and perfect." Sakura smiled, and knelt down to look up at them.

"I know. And it's not true. Every shinobi fails. We all make mistakes, and sometimes, those mistakes are very costly. To ourselves and to our comrades. But that's why we have to get along. Because the most important thing is working as a team. If one of us messes up, like I did, we all get punished. Everyone depends on the other. So, I know you guys are angry. And I know it's not exactly at me, or at Sasuke, or at Tsunade-sama. But it's at yourselves and your sensei and the entire world. Believe me when I tell you that by getting out your grief and frustration with training- well, it helps. Right, Sasuke?"

"More than you can believe. I know what it's like to lose someone close to me." They all looked up at their new male sensei, remembering the infamous Uchiha Clan Massacre story. Their eyes widened as they remembered that this man had lost his _entire_ family in one night. Sometimes, Sakura realized, she forgot that, too. It was so easy to see Sasuke as the villain Sasuke; the former pupil of Orochimaru, the one hell-bent on revenge, the one who vowed to destroy Konoha. It was hard to remember that he was just a boy when his brother slaughtered his entire family. Itachi's fault or not, it still happened. "But, it becomes easier with friends and with training. You all understand what it feels like. Now we can turn those feelings into power and strength." The three nodded.

"Now, shall we begin again? Let's start with introductions. I'm Sakura Haruno. My best friends in the entire world are my own genin team, Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei. I love to heal and to help people. One day, I dream that I'll become the best medical ninja in the world."

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, and I'm trying to make up for them. Yes, I was a bad guy and a criminal. Yes, Orochimaru trained me for quite a long time. And yes, I killed my brother. But, I can only learn from what I've done. Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, and Arata are the most important people in my life right now. They've done everything for me. My dream is to... to stay with all my important people and to always protect them. And before you ask, no, Sakura and I are not dating. However, we do live together."

"What are you good at?" Fuuka asked him.

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu... Everything," he responded. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sasuke is fast and deadly. Don't look into his eyes if he has his Sharingan (which he doesn't, right now). He's strong, but he's not as physically strong as I am, nor is his chakra control that great. Let me say it this way: if I were to land one solid hit on Sasuke, it's most likely I would win the fight." She had to bust his ego just a bit. She hated his cockiness. "Now, your turn."

"I'm Hideyo. I dream of becoming an ANBU Captain and I want to be a personal guard to the Hokage when I'm older. I want to protect my older sister, because even though she is a chuunin, she's not that strong. I want to help her become stronger. And... I'm good at genjutsu."

"I'm Fuuka. I dream of being in ANBU, too. I want to be a world-famous kunoichi who sparks fear into the heart of my enemies. I have a twin brother who is really sick and isn't a ninja. I want to protect him, too. I'm good with ninjutsu."

"I'm Akihiko. I have four older sisters and they are all really strong. All of them are jounin or higher. I really don't want to be in ANBU or anything like that. I... I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm good in taijutsu." Sakura gently smiled.

"That's okay. I never really knew what I wanted to do when I was your age. It comes with age, okay?" Sakura smiled brightly at them, feeling as if the ice had been cracked and they were beginning to warm up to her. "Now, we should start training. Let's go to the training areas. Where did you guys always train at?"

"...Training Field Three. But... we don't want to go there."

"We'll go to Training Field Six," Sasuke told them. "It should be empty." They all followed the man without a word, the three genin keeping their heads down. At the field, Sakura and Sasuke commanded the team to spar with one another so they could evaluate their skills.

After some time, Sakura and Sasuke agreed to train the three, making them perk up.

"What would you like to learn?" Sakura asked them.

"Your super strength!"

"The Chidori!"

"How to heal!" Both members of Team Seven smiled, shaking their heads.

"How about you climb the tree first?" Sakura suggested, demonstrating by walking up the bark. She was surprised to see that all three could accomplish that. "Can you walk on water, yet?" Smiling, she jumped into the nearby lake, landing perfectly on her feet, hardly making a ripple in the pond. Sasuke pushed Akihiko towards the lake.

"Before you can learn any of our techniques, you must get the basics down," Sasuke told them shortly, pushing Fuuka towards the pond next. Hideyo went towards the water on his own accord.

When all three genins took the same step together onto the water surface, Sakura and Sasuke both held their breath, wondering if they could actually do it. And then they couldn't help but laugh when all three broke the surface of the water and began to sink.

"Second lesson!" Sakura called, "Learn how to swim!"

* * *

><p>She wanted to die. Every<em>thing<em> in her body ached. She was sure each individual cell was sore. Sakura couldn't even remember how to feel rested. Sleep seemed like a far off dream. She just wanted to go home and fall asleep in a tub of hot water.

It was already Friday. She had been at this for almost three weeks. Her fourth training session with Tsunade would be on Sunday; yet again, she had made slow progress with her jutsu. However, Sakura could easily say that she had gained a much higher tolerance for pain. And she had learned how to fight against chakra bindings.

This schedule was _killing_ her. She felt like the only people she saw were Sasuke, her genin team, Tsunade, Shizune, and the hospital staff. She wasn't even sure she remembered what Naruto looked like. And if she wasn't sleeping with Itachi, she probably would have forgotten his image, too.

"And that's all for today's lesson. Class dismissed," Sakura declared, looking at the clock. Technically, she was supposed to teach until twelve o'clock. It was an hour early, but Sakura didn't care. She needed a break. She was going to go out and have a nice lunch, her schedule be damned!

"Very good lesson," the voice spoke up as Sakura walked out of the room. She jumped, turning towards the source. Seeing who it was, Sakura lit up. "I haven't seen you in ages, it feels like. Come on, we're going to go grab lunch. And I don't care what you say." Sakura nodded eagerly, letting her arm be snagged by the blonde girl.

"I've missed you, Ino."

"I'm just glad to see that this seclusion of yours isn't by choice. I've heard through the grapevine that Tsunade is working you like a slave because of your last mission failure. Punishment, or whatever. Cruelty is what I call it."

"It's ghastly," Sakura agreed.

"Last time you worked yourself to the bone like this, it was like... two years ago. Before Arata even." They had made it to the heart of the village. Ino grinned and dragged Sakura to an outside restaurant, plopping down at a table. Someone would serve them soon enough.

"It's still weird to me," Ino admitted, as they waited for a waitress to come to them, "that you're dating him. I mean, especially with Sasuke living with you guys. I've heard that Arata is like besties with Sasuke and all, but he does know that you and Sasuke were like... well, you were majorly in love with him, right?" Sakura briefly blanked at Ino's response, until she remembered that to her best friend, it seemed as if she was simply dating a shinobi raised in a different village. Sakura was so used to hanging around people that knew that Arata and Itachi were one in the same, that finding a person who didn't know the connection was strange.

"Arata knows, yes," Sakura told her. "He is okay with our past relationship." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, he may say that, but he's really not. And... really..." Ino frowned, biting her lip. Sakura raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as a waitress came to take their order. After the waitress left, Ino continued the conversation. "I mean, really, don't you think you're going to end up with Sasuke? You two have so much history together. Arata is just... some guy, don't you think?" Sakura felt her brow crease as she looked at her best friend.

The best friend who didn't know that her boyfriend was Sasuke's older, dead/revived, brother.

"No, it's not like that. Arata is special. We have a lot in common. And I don't like Sasuke that way."

"It's just strange, Sakura. I never expected you to fall in love with someone who wasn't even from our village. Who never went through the things we did. I mean... I just feel like you could relate to Sasuke better."

"Arata has a different side to him, though. He's special." Ino shrugged, finally deciding that it wasn't her place to question Sakura's love choices. She seemed happy enough, after all, and it wasn't like Arata was a bad guy. He was polite, nice, _hothothothot_, and treated Sakura well.

"Well, since we're on the topic of Arata, has your... ahem... _love life_ improved?" Sakura couldn't even blush, as she grinned and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh yeah," she told her best friend. It wasn't like they were shy talking about their sex lives. It got to a point with her best friend that there was no modesty or secrets of that sort between them.

"Ooh~ when?"

"My birthday. He returned after my party and we... well... it was part of my birthday gift." Ino clapped her hands excitedly, grinning like a Cheshire cat. It was at that moment that their food was placed in front of them. The girls both ate, still making conversation.

"And? Since then?" Sakura giggled, taking a bite of her rice and fish.

"Well, we _do_ sleep together. And now that Sasuke is gone on missions... well... At least three times a week." As an afterthought, she added, "At minimum."

"Daaayuum, girlie!" Ino's grin turned fox-like. "How is he?" Sakura laughed lowly, winking.

"Well, I don't have that much experience but..." She raised her eyebrows, smirking, "I'd say pretty good. His body is delicious, is all I can say." Ino licked her lips, biting her index finger seductively. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"No. I'm not sharing." Her blonde-haired friend shrugged, taking a bite of food. "On another topic, my genin team is killing me." One thing she loved about Ino was the way she was able to easily switch personalities to fit with the topic. Just seconds before, she had been mischievous and flirtatious. Now, she was concerned and sympathetic- it was exactly what Sakura needed.

"What's wrong with them?" Sakura puffed out her cheeks, pouting.

"Well, they lost their sensei a few weeks ago. So getting me and Sasuke as a replacement hasn't been easy on them. Plus, we teach them differently than what they are used to with their sensei. I mean, they had been with their sensei for almost a year before he died. They know a lot of the basics, and they are trying to get along with us, but their team dynamic and our team dynamic is different. We're not clicking. And they aren't opening up easily to us, so we're both sort of stuck. I just don't know."

"Do they respect you?" Sakura shrugged dejectedly.

"I think they respect our reputations more than our actual persons. Because I'm Sakura, the pupil of the Fifth Hokage, and Sasuke is Sasuke, the pupil of Orochimaru. I mean, they've learned about us since the Academy. But they don't really speak to us, and when they do, they are still angry or cold about everything. It's just not going anywhere with them."

"Why don't you try inviting them over for dinner? That's how Asuma got us all closer together. Or, you can do what Kurenai-sensei did with her team and simply beat the crap out of them to show them why they should respect you and why they need to work together. What did Kakashi do to you guys?"

"The bell exercise forced us to realize what it was like to be a team. After we were all made official as a part of his team, we sort of became close. Well, Naruto and Sasuke did. I was never... as accepted as they were when we were younger."

"Of course. I know. Well, for your own genin team, you can only be yourself. Eventually, after enough missions, they will warm up to you. Give them time, I guess? How many times after Naruto and Sasuke left did you complain to me about how you disliked Kakashi-sensei? About how you realized how he had never trained you properly and whatnot? I clearly remember a lot of tears about your own team when you were younger." Sakura had a grim expression on her face as she was forced to remember.

"I know. We're close now, though."

"Exactly. It only took over three years. Give them time. They've been through a lot. I know what it's like to lose a sensei. It feels like your soul is being ripped out; like a part of you is missing. I could never imagine having another sensei after Asuma. But, granted, we were all chuunins by that point and didn't need another teacher. Still, I wouldn't have wanted another one. These kids were close to their sensei. It's hard to adapt."

"Yes, you're right. As usual." Ino grinned, rolling her eyes.

"Of course I am. Have you ever doubted me?" The two girls spent the rest of the meal with simple chatter, trying to catch up the best they could. For the first time in weeks, Sakura was relaxed and felt like she was slipping back into her old life. One before the drama with Sasuke, and her failed mission, and the Council, and everything else.

"And so then he grabbed me and forced me down on the bed. And I was like, 'No, no, not here! She'll f-ing kill me if she finds out!' And he groaned, already stripping me of my shirt and skirt. As a compromise, he sort of hoisted me up and thrusted into me as we locked ourselves into a closet." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Was it good?" Ino shrugged.

"I've had better. Muuuuch better. But it was fun."

"I'm just glad you didn't do it on the bed. I would have been pissed." Ino grinned.

"I know. I'm following the rules!" At a quick glance at the clock on the wall, Sakura cursed, standing up abruptly.

"I've got to go! I'm already fifteen minutes late to meet with my genin! It's been a blast talking with you, Ino. We should do it again soon! Bye!" Ino could hardly formulate a response before Sakura was dashing away, having thrown down enough money to cover her bill.

"That girl..." Ino sighed, smiling.

* * *

><p>"About time, Sakura," Sasuke told her. He was frowning severely at his pink-haired teammate.<p>

"Sorry. I was helping an old lady cross the street when this bear came out of nowhere and-"

"Really? Kakashi's excuses?" Sasuke shook his head, though she could see the small grin playing on his lips. Her eyes glinted and she nodded, grinning. "We don't have a mission for today, so it's just a training day," he informed her and the rest of their team.

"Good! What do you guys want to do today? How about basic stuff? Sparring and whatnot?" Fuuka, Hideyo, and Akihiko all nodded obediently. "Sasuke and I will spar with you, too. Except we won't use any jutsu." All five nodded, taking their places on opposite ends of the fields. Sakura was the one to count down and then she dashed out first.

Her target was Fuuka. She appeared in front of the girl, bringing a hand down on her shoulder. Fuuka fell to the ground, shocked.

"Dodge!" Sakura called. "If I had used chakra, your arm would have been broken. If I had used a weapon, your tendons would have been cut, or you would have been poisoned. You must dodge and react quickly!" Akihiko came up behind her, trying to kick her. While he was fast, Sakura was faster and was able to easily twirl out of his way.

"Predict your enemies moves!" she chided him, grinning as she sensed Fuuka come up from behind her. Grinning, she jumped, avoiding the attack. Sakura spared no mercy and roundhouse kicked Fuuka in the chest, sending the thirteen year-old spiraling into the ground.

"No chakra in that kick, either!" She smirked, seeing Sasuke nail Hideyo in the shoulder by using his elbow. Akihiko was trying to charge at Sakura, and thinking it would be a prime time to show the kids an example, she stood her ground. He got within arms reach, throwing a mixture of kunai and shuriken at her. But Sakura had already made her move. Easily enough, she reached out, flicking his forehead. She had added the tiniest bit of chakra, sending the boy flying backwards. He landed on his bottom, wincing and rubbing his head. There was already a bruise forming.

To taunt them, Sasuke landed next to Sakura, yawning. She stretched, and reached out, hitting Sasuke in the shoulder.

"Let's spar against each other, too," she told him. He took up her challenge. He kicked her legs from underneath her, which Sakura retaliated by landing on her hands and kicking him in the chest. He back-flipped out of her reach, while she sprung onto her hands.

"Ah ah, lesson number two!" Sakura called at her stunned genins, deflecting a blow from Sasuke, "Never get shocked by a fight. We're distracted. Attack! This is perfect opportunities. A ninja's duty isn't to fight fairly; we don't care about fairness and whatnot. We're assassins of the night- our only care in the world is accomplishing the mission for our Hokage." Sakura kicked Sasuke away from her, turning to face the genin. "The only other rule that trumps that is to never leave a teammate behind. We depend on our teammates more than anything. To leave one behind to complete the mission- well, you're worse than trash. We stick together and we complete the mission together. Understand? Teamwork is key to success! You three should learn that!"

The three genin finally seemed to understand what they needed to do and began to work together. They still weren't any match for Sakura or Sasuke, but they did manage to lend a few hits and jutsus on their senseis.

Sakura had just thrown Hideyo into Akihiko, and Sasuke had just pinned Fuuka to a tree with shurikens when a long whistle interrupted their sparring session.

"Woo! Look at you guys go!" Naruto grinned, leaning against a railing, looking at them. "Sasuke, Sakura, I heard about your team. I thought I'd come check them out first-hand." Sakura grinned, wiping her brow.

"Let's take a break, guys. Have you all met Naruto?" The three wide-eyed genin shook their heads no. As they dusted themselves off (Hideyo helping Fuuka off the tree), they cautiously approached Naruto, trying to fight back smiles. Sakura and Sasuke both laughed at their nervous natures, knowing how much of a legend Naruto was to the younger generation.

It was no secret that since his defeat of Pain, Madara, and becoming the hero of the Fourth World War, everyone in Konoha loved him. He had tamed the beast within, they said, and saved the village and the world. He had united countries together and his smile cheered everyone's heart. He was the savior of the world.

Nonetheless, all the children worshiped him. From the time they began the Academy, they heard about Naruto. What an inspiring story he would have (_The orphan, hated boy, carrier of the fierce Kyuubi. He rose above everyone and saved the world and our village! A hero, a hero!) _Sakura's genin team was no different than any other genin team. They all loved the Hokage-in-waiting.

"Hiya! I'm Naruto! Who are you guys?"

"I'm Fuuka," the girl shyly replied, looking down at her feet.

"I'm Hideyo," Hideyo told him, bowing his head politely.

"I'm Akihiko," he told him, also tipping his head in greeting.

"Do you like your senseis? They are some of the best ever!" Naruto leaned down, drawing the kids closer to him. "Don't be fooled. I know they're young, but you guys are the luckiest team in the village. These guys have more experience than half the other senseis out there. They were both trained by the Sannin and are super strong. They've fought in the Fourth War and did a lot of amazing things; you should try your best to learn from their example. I know Sasuke can be a real bastard, and Sakura-chan is probably really naggy, but they mean well. I am their teammate, after all, so I know how they work. And you're lucky you have them!"

"Naruto-sama, do... do you think we'll ever be as strong as you?" Akihiko ventured timidly. Naruto responded with a beaming smile.

"Of course! Especially if you train hard and do what you can! Now, be good for these two. Your training will be rough, but it's good for you! All right, Sasuke, Sakura-chan, give these guys hell~" Naruto snickered, waving at the petrified genins. "A little blood, sweat, and tears never killed anybody! Get working, guys!" At that, he gave a salute, and took off.

With Naruto's pep talking fueling their genin, Sasuke and Sakura turned to face them.

"Let's do our best, guys. Now, no more holding back. I want all three of you to do three hundred push-ups, and then fifty laps around Konoha! Go, go, go!" And, to be fair, both Sasuke and Sakura got down with their team, doing the exercises with them.

"After all," Sakura remarked to one of their questions as to why they were also doing push-ups, "a team sticks together through thick or thin! C'mon!"

* * *

><p>She closed her eyes, concentrating. She had to get this jutsu down; she didn't want to have to rely on her Yin-Seal for everything. That was why Tsunade wanted to learn it, too. To depend on the Byakugo jutsu drained a person's chakra. It was a wonderful jutsu, but to use if for a sustained period of time was damaging to the body. That was why they both needed to learn a simple medical jutsu that healed without ever actually using seals.<p>

Sakura had almost gotten it down. After six training sessions with Tsunade, meaning six different days where she was beaten again and again to a pulp, she had finally figured out some of the things needed for her jutsu.

First, it took a concentration of chakra from the inside to heal wounds on the outside. By using the chakra inside her body, Sakura didn't have to bother using her hands or seals.

Second, if she made a thin layer of chakra right on the edge of her skin, every time she was hurt, the chakra would draw more chakra from her body to heal her. In essence, an instant healing jutsu without much concentration needed.

Third, she could even take her chakra outside her body and use it as a long-distance healing jutsu without seals. However, this did take much more concentration. It was like aiming a water jutsu at someone and making sure it hit. But, the good part was, if the medical jutsu hit the person, Sakura could control the chakra from far away and heal the correct areas. And, if she put a chakra tag on the person (or persons) before fighting, she didn't have to aim the jutsu at them. She could simply transport the chakra to the correct person without much trouble.

If she could master this jutsu, it would be just as useful as the First Hokage's medical ninjutsu. And it would be more useful than the Byakugo jutsu considering it wouldn't tax her body, like the seal did. In essence, it would become a necessity to teach all medic nins the jutsu.

Bleeding, her arm broken, and her eye swollen shut, Sakura stood up. Tsunade stood smirking, hardly a scratch on her. To be fair, Sakura had not been trying to actually harm her mentor. She was simply allowing herself to be beaten and then trying to heal herself.

Once more, she tried to focus her chakra from the inside into the wounds. It was becoming easier to heal herself this way, but Tsunade, never wanting to make it easy, attacked. A foot was slammed into her face, throwing her to the ground. Sakura grunted, coughing out blood. Still, she kept using the jutsu. Slowly, her eye was losing the bruising and the swelling was decreasing.

"Fight back!" Tsunade called. "Defend yourself as you heal!" She charged at her pupil again, and Sakura dodged, slamming her heel down into the ground. It cracked, but the splitting of chakra between two parts of her body felt like she was being pulled apart. She wasn't used to using such highly concentrated amounts of chakra at two different parts of her body at once. Especially with such minimal concentration, as she was still trying to focus on Tsunade.

All in all, the effort left her winded. Still, Sakura put up an arm to block Tsunade's onslaught of attacks, since Sakura's attack had done nothing. Tsunade hit her with a fierce combo of fists, and then kicked her up into the air, and then elbowed her back into the ground.

"Ooh," someone let out a low whistle as Sakura forced herself to stand. She could only imagine what she looked like- bruised, bleeding, swollen, freaking beaten to a pulp. Glancing as to the voice, Sakura was surprised to see a crowd. A smile spread across her face as she saw Itachi, and then it turned into a grimace as she saw Sasuke with their genin team.

"Is Sakura-sensei going to be okay?" Fuuka asked Sasuke. Itachi and Sasuke both looked at the pinkette they loved and simultaneously nodded.

"She's had worse," Itachi remarked, still focusing on his girlfriend. Heat rising up her neck, almost in embarrassment, Sakura turned back to fight. Tsunade was smirking, cracking her knuckles.

"You have an audience now, Sakura. Better not let them down!" And, as in her usual fashion, Tsunade leapt at her, swinging a fist at her face. Sakura was able to deflect the blow, kicking Tsunade back. Taking a few seconds to breathe, she concentrated and tried to heal herself. There was a low murmur behind her from her team and the Uchiha brothers as they watched some of her wounds disappear without her touching them.

Sakura was the one to make the first move at Tsunade, her fist grazing Tsunade's nose. It was enough force to send Tsunade back a few inches. Sakura continued her healing jutsu, feeling overly conscious as the eyes watched her every move.

She dodged a kick from Tsunade, ducked under a punch, and retaliated with her own kick. She jumped to the right as an elbow came down at her. It was a cycle of dodge and attack and dodge. But, she was proud that she was still able to heal her wounds at the same. Even her broken arm was mending back together.

But, her high note was soured when Tsunade landed a nasty kick right in her chest. Sakura was sent spiraling backwards, cracking the ground with the impact. She wheezed, realizing that her ribs had been cracked and punctured both her lungs with the attack. Blood poured out of her mouth and she weakly raised a hand to her chest, trying to focus enough to heal herself. It trembled and Sakura could hardly form enough chakra in one spot to heal herself. She finally realized that her chakra was practically gone; it was a shock that she hadn't noticed before that moment as to how depleted her chakra was.

"Sakura!" Sasuke was the first one to call out. Yet, Itachi was the first one kneeling beside her, channeling chakra to his own hands to begin healing. She sometimes forgot that her boyfriend was skilled in _all _areas, not just fighting. He could heal better than some of her medics, even.

"Arata, I can heal her," Tsunade called, rolling her eyes. "She's fine. Just some punctured lungs and broken ribs. Nothing unusual. Don't freak out." Itachi didn't respond, but even with her eyes half-lidded, Sakura could see his nasty glare. "Don't give me that look. Move," Tsunade told him, leaning down to heal Sakura.

And much like she had said, within five minutes, Sakura was back to normal. She wiped the blood from her chin, weakly pulling herself into a sitting position. Itachi was kneeling beside her, his arms tensed to catch her at the slightest sign that she might faint.

"Ah, since you seem to have a crowd around here, I'll go ahead and let you get off easy tonight. You can go out with these guys." Sakura smiled, bowing in thanks to Tsunade. "You three," Tsunade turned towards the genin, who immediately straightened up, all nervous at being spoken to by the Hokage, "I've been hearing about you. Make sure you're listening and obeying your senseis. I'm expecting good things out of you three."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" All three responded in unison. Sakura grinned, leaning against Itachi.

"I've trained them pretty well, huh?" she asked him. He gave her a smirk, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. "We should all go out for dinner."

"We've actually got a small mission to attend to," Sasuke told her. "No, no, you're not coming. It was assigned to us and you're too tired to do anything right now. You've just been beaten repeatedly. Go home and sleep."

"Ugh, fine." Sakura pushed herself up from the ground, surprised when it was Hideyo and Akihiko that helped her to her feet. Itachi took a step back, letting the two genin boys help their sensei. Akihiko stepped back away from the woman, seeing that she was stable, but Hideyo did not. Instead, he looked at his feet, twisting a piece of his shirt in his hand.

"...Sakura-sensei?" Sakura looked down and Hideyo, cocking her head curiously. "Can I speak with you for a few minutes?" She nodded, breaking away from Itachi and the rest of the group. The walked a few feet away, Sakura blocking Hideyo from the rest of the group, so they couldn't eavesdrop.

"What's up?" Hideyo looked at his feet, running a hand through his hair.

"I want to learn how to heal. I want to save my teammates. I couldn't... we couldn't do anything last time... and our sensei-" Sakura smiled, patting his head. "I want to do what you do."

"Hideyo, how about if I teach all three of you how to heal? Would you all like that?" He nodded. "Do good on your next mission, and I promise when you come back, I'll teach all you guys how to heal."

"Thank you, Sakura-sensei!" He smiled at her and Sakura felt her heart warm a bit. She was growing to really like her genin team. They were... just what she needed, she thought to herself. Everything was looking up with them. "You know, at first, we were upset that we were getting a new sensei. But we all agree. We like you and Sasuke-sensei. You... you aren't anything like we thought you'd be. So, thanks."

"Anytime, Hideyo. We like you guys, too. Now, go on a do your best. I'll train you when you get back. Promise!" He smiled, and nodded, running to join his team. Sasuke bowed his head in farewell to Tsunade, Sakura, and Itachi, and then took off with the team, dashing towards the village gates.

As they faded from sight, Tsunade turned to her pupil and strongest ninja. "You two, everything seems to be falling into place, hmm?" Itachi and Sakura nodded. "Sasuke is adjusting well."

"Yeah," Sakura responded quietly, smiling. Tsunade placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, and another on Itachi's.

"I'm proud of you two. I can always trust you two to make the correct decisions, no matter what. Do your best. Ah, I've got a meeting with the Council. Have a nice dinner. And Sakura, go ahead and go back to your normal schedule. You don't need to come to my office anymore. You're off your punishment, now. I'll talk to you later." They both bowed in farewell, letting Tsunade depart.

"Dinner now, yes?" Itachi nodded, and the two walked away, hand-in-hand.

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><p>"These are your orders." He swallowed hard, but kept his eyes blank and nodded curtly.<p>

"Failure to complete this mission by the third of June will be punished by death. To speak of this mission to anyone else will be punished by death. Failure to kill all members will result in death." He swallowed hard. "You are, of course, exempt from this rule. And you may spare Hinata. She'll cause more problems than she's worth if dead."

"Of course."

"This is the mission scroll. Read it, memorize it, then _burn _it."

"Yes."

"You are dismissed." He bowed. "And Neji? We're expecting success."

"Of course, Council-sama." He turned the knob, exiting the dark office into the black hallway. The scroll felt like it was burning his hand as he clenched it tightly. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

He was to massacre the entire Hyuuga Clan.

After everything seemed to be going so well, after all of it, it all ended in this. He gripped the scroll tighter, trying to remain calm.

History truly did repeat itself.

Neji walked out into the storming village, letting the rain pound his back. He promptly turned on his heel and ran at top speed to Sakura and Itachi's home.

He would not make the same mistake Itachi did. This time, he would have help.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>This chapter has been the absolute hardest chapter to write on this story. As I've mentioned before, I've had this story planned out since the beginning in a notebook. But it was only planned to chapter 20, where this was supposed to end the story. Then I added an additional five chapters, which I sorta figured out in small notes in my notebook. Except this chapter. All my notes have ever said for chapter 20 is, "Tie up loose ends.". It's been rough trying figure out what all those loose ends were. Very frustrating.<p>

Additional notes on this chapter!

1. People have mentioned in several reviews about Sakura's illegal actions with her jutsu. I hope this chapter eases most people's pain with how she's been getting off with her punishment.

2. Again, more jutsu explanation. If you have any questions about A. Sasuke's eyes, B. Sakura's reason for no longer using her revival jutsu, or C. Sakura and Itachi's bond, please ask! I tried to make this as clear as possible.

3. The jutsu Sakura is trying to learn with Tsunade is how to heal without using seals or her hands. In the manga, Madara mentions that the First Hokage could do this. A chapter later, Tsunade reveals her special Byakugo jutsu which uses her seal. The two women, in this story, are trying to make an easier jutsu that doesn't use so much chakra, concentration, or risks, or the Yin-Seal. They want to make a jutsu to teach other medics. I hope this makes sense.

4. Sakura and Sasuke's genin team: 1, if you catch, Sakura tells Iruka she had no idea that she was going to have a partner. If you read carefully, Tsunade does tell Sakura that she'll have another sensei helping her. Sakura just never listens, lol. 2, As for the actual team... Well, I'm sort of torn with them. I guess they aren't really crucial to the plot yet. I'd like some feedback on them; yes, they don't have very developed personalities, I've done that purposely. We'll see how they develop in later chapters.

5. The flashback to the Kages: I don't usually use flashbacks. But it was the only way I felt like I could express this scene accurately. I went back and forth between a flashback and Tsunade just narrating the events; eventually, I realized that the narration was too heavy and this scene needed to be more "seen" than "heard" so, even though it's not typical for a flashback in this story, I thought it was necessary at this moment.

I think that is it for this chapter. Tell me what you think?

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><p><em><strong>Next chapter:<strong>_

___As the past resurfaces, the group is faced with an immediate crisis. To massacre the Hyuuga Clan, they must put everything on the line to stop a mistake from repeating. The Council has learned from their past mistakes and it surely won't be the same as last time. Itachi must face the thing he has left behind since his revival: his past and his sins. _

_**Chapter Twenty-One: Lies**_

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><p>Again, I apologize for the delay! I hope this chapter was worth it! Hope to see you soon~ :D<p> 


	21. Chapter 21: Lies

Oh dear, oh dear. Oh my. I am so sorry. It's been soooooooooo long since I've updated. :( I do have legitimate excuses, I promise. And in what rare free time I've had, I've been writing, still. But... I'm sorry :( I'll explain my reasons at the end of this chapter. That way you can just start reading.

And since it's been so long, I'll sum up briefly how last chapter ended: Neji had just decided to head towards Itachi and Sakura's home after getting a mission to massacre his family. This chapter picks up immediately after last chapter.

Enjoy :)

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-One: <span>_Lies_

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><p>It was three thirty-three when she opened the door, glaring fiercely at whoever was knocking. There had better be seventy ninjas <em>dying<em> since they were waking her. She had been pounded by Tsunade-sama that day and she was freaking exhausted.

Sakura reeled back, seeing Neji.

"Oh. Do you need Arata?" He shook his head mutely, wiping a strand of soaked hair away from his face. "Um. Well... uhh... Come in?" He nodded, stiffly coming into her house, though she noticed that he checked his surroundings before entering. "Is something wrong, Neji? Are you hurt-"

"I need to speak with Itachi." His voice was raw and there was something clipped in the way that he spoke that alerted her to the seriousness of the situation. She nodded and rushed up the stairs, briefly wondering why his hands were clenched so tightly. His knuckles were white.

As she figured, Itachi was sitting up in bed when she opened their bedroom door. He ran a hand through his hair, throwing on a shirt as he followed her downstairs. He had already heard Neji's request so she did not need to speak.

Itachi offered Neji a seat on the couch, while Sakura hurried into the kitchen to make tea. Neither of the men spoke; Neji seemed to be gathering his thoughts, while Itachi waited for him to speak. Sakura was able to make three cups of tea before either man spoke.

It was Neji, after thanking Sakura for the tea, who finally began to speak as to why he was there.

"I thought... I thought with this plan to reform the Hyuuga Clan, that everything would work out. Tsunade-sama had given it her blessing and with Naruto going to become Hokage soon... Everything was looking up. That was what we all thought." He opened his clenched fist, showing them the scroll. "Help me, Itachi. Help me, please." Both of their eyes widened as they saw the scroll.

_Assassination of the Hyuuga Clan, S-rank. _

"Y-you... No." Sakura shook her head, closing her eyes. Neji nodded, handing the scroll to Itachi. He unrolled it calmly, though there was something in his eyes that Sakura had never seen before. It was not anger, nor fear, nor hatred... it was something else, though. An acceptance? A horror? She wasn't sure.

"Tsunade signed it," Itachi told them, his jaw clenching. "The Council has done it again."

"Tsunade-sama would never willingly sign this!" Sakura exclaimed, standing up. Her tea clattered from her hand, the glass shattering on the floor. Both men looked down at the tea, almost fixated on it. It was something to distract them. She paid it no mind, glaring at them. "I know Tsunade-sama! She's like my mother. She would never, never, ever agree to this!" Neji pried his eyes away from the tea, looking at her. Itachi focused on Neji once he began to speak.

"She wasn't in the meeting," Neji told them. "I think... I think something has happened to her. But I don't know what to do with this." His eyes looked pointedly at the scroll. Their eyes glanced at the horrifying document, then focused back on Neji as he moved. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to remain calm. Still, Sakura and Itachi could tell that Neji was frayed from the inside out. It looked like he wanted to become hysterical.

After all, he had just been ordered to massacre his family. And if he refused, he would be killed.

"Neji, they will not stop at this," Itachi told him, sitting the scroll aside. "They considered my mission a failure because I spared my brother. They will make sure that this time, there is no loose ends. Someone will be sent out to kill you and Hinata, as well. The entire Hyuuga Clan will be wiped from existence."

"Why, Itachi? Why are they... I don't understand. My clan has done nothing wrong!" Itachi gripped his pants, deciding to confide into Neji his deepest secret. The one that only Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tsunade knew.

"The reason the Council ordered the massacre of my clan was because they were planning a rebellion. They wished to overthrow Konoha. I betrayed my clan by reporting their activities to the Hokage to prevent a civil war from breaking out. Your clan, while not planning a rebellion, is doing something the Council cannot have at the moment. Your clan has switched power from the hands that supported the Council, into Hinata's reforming hands that will always stand by Naruto's decisions. By wiping out the strongest remaining clan in Konoha, the Council is trying to guarantee their power will remain. Your clan is breaking rules, they believe, by changing. What are the charges against your clan?" Neji looked down at his knees, closing his eyes.

"They pulled out a scroll. It seemed to be some law made many, many years ago. It was a signed agreement that the Hyuuga Clan will put forth to the Konoha Council their next heir, or heiress, to be voted on before the heir inherits the position. In this case, because my uncle did not put Hinata-sama up for a vote, the clan is at fault."

"That's not enough for an entire execution!" Sakura exclaimed, standing up and pacing around the room.

"There must be more," Itachi pressed. Neji looked up at Itachi, swallowing hard.

"...My uncle... There has been talk going around in some of the upper parts in the clan now that Hinata-sama is Clan Head... well, that there might be some sort of rebellion brewing in the clan. Which, if the Council got any sort of whiff of the schisms developing, because there are three large factions breaking in the clan, it would be the perfect excuse to execute them."

"What's happening?" Sakura asked him, leaning against the window, watching outside. She was worried that spies would come to watch them.

"There is the half that supports Hinata-sama, which is most of the Branch clan. We call them the Reformers. I am part of this group. Then, in the other parts of the Branch, they want me to become the leaders and completely overthrow the Main parts. We call these the Extremists. There aren't very many, but they are dangerous. I've been working on integrating them to Hinata's side. And finally, there is the half that hates what we're doing. This is mostly the entire Main half of the clan. They want Hanabi-sama to become Head. We call them the Loyalists." Itachi nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, with these three factions, there has been a lot of talk about leaving the village. Especially on the Extremest side. It would have been easy for someone to tell the Council about us. I have no idea who is on who's side in that clan. All I know is that Hinata speaks to very few people in the clan; not even her sister or father. Mostly, I see her with Ko. He is solely loyal to Hinata-sama and would do anything for her."

"In essence," Itachi cut in, his gaze piercing, "your clan is on the brink of revolution. You're divided and arguing with each other. Hinata is trying her best, but she can't rally the clan together. You're trying to throw your support to her, but you can't appease your own followers. And the Main part is completely out of reach with the rest. Correct?" Neji nodded, looking down at his lap. "And all it takes is a few exaggerated tales of what is going on within your clan. The Council, who has likely been waiting for something like this to happen, can completely eradicate your clan by claiming they were plotting revolution and rebellion. And with them gone, who's there to defend them?"

"What do I do, Itachi?" Neji's voice cracked and he gripped his pants tightly. "They'll find someone else. They'll do something else. I can't..."

"We need to plan this strategically," Sakura spoke up, leaning against the window. "Shouldn't our first priority be to find Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes," Itachi agreed. "But we must be discrete about it. We must choose carefully who we tell about this mission. Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai, and Shikamaru. I would say Shizune, but I believe something has happened to her, too." Both shinobi nodded to Itachi's statement. "Undoubtedly, they will do something to rid themselves of Team Seven. You are too nosy and, especially you, Sakura, see Tsunade-sama too frequently. I expect you all to be sent on a long mission of some sort. Probably tomorrow morning. So we must act fast on our own." Itachi glanced at the clock, frowning.

"Sasuke will be home in the morning," Sakura told him. "At least, he should be. The mission shouldn't have lasted that long. They're only genin, after all."

"Is Naruto on a mission?" Itachi asked the two. Sakura shrugged, having not spoken to Naruto in the past few days.

"He was, but he should be back soon," Neji answered. "Hinata-sama and Ko went with him."

"First thing in the morning, then," Itachi told them, "is to find Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Sai. Hopefully Sasuke will have returned by then, and maybe Hinata and Naruto. Neji, right now, your priority is to keep this silent. Act is if you are planning to go through with it."

"How... how do I do that?" Itachi returned his question with a grim smile. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his blue eyes. For a few seconds, both Sakura and Neji could have sworn that his eyes turned a furious violet.

"As it turns out, I have ample experience in that." His voice was tinged with irony. "You need to withdraw into yourself. Isolate yourself from friends; including Tenten and your team. Take as many missions as possible. However, when you do spend time with your team, or with Tenten, or anyone else you love, you must be as affectionate as possible. Be vocal in the clan. Protest loudly; be disrespectful. Get angry. As the date approaches, become more and more silent. Stop seeing everybody. You... will become..." Itachi trailed off, closing his eyes. "The turmoil... You don't _want_ to be around anyone. You'll be snappy and moody; no one will understand you."

"Itachi..." Sakura spoke softly, hesitantly approaching him. This was the first time he had ever mentioned anything regarding the time before he killed his clan. As she placed a hand on his shoulder, he opened his eyes, looking hard at Neji.

"We will meet tomorrow. We must be absolutely discrete. We will meet where there will be no eyes from anyone." Smirking, he turned towards Sakura. "Remember all those security measures we placed in the hospital?" She nodded. "How many safe rooms are there? Without any doubt that no one could see us meet?"

"Oh, you're right! We have a special safe-room, isolated from the rest of the hospital. It's for detaining important political leaders that may be assassinated when they are ill. There is absolutely no one who knows the location, besides Itachi and myself. He's the one who's been helping me buff up my security. For this reason, I know the security of the hospital like the back of my hand. I know where it's weak and how you can all get there to meet."

"Excellent." Smiling at Itachi's praise, Sakura eagerly went on to explain.

"We can act as if you are all coming in to see me. As patients. I'll slip you the way to get to the room and plans while I examine you. This way, we'll all be able to meet there tomorrow." Neji nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but all three of them turned sharply towards the window. Swallowing hard, Sakura rushed to the window, closing the curtains. She gestured for Itachi to turn the light out beside him; the room was plunged into darkness.

"You need to leave now!" Sakura hissed at Neji. "People are starting to come this way. They're going to be watching you." Without another word, Neji disappeared in a poof of smoke. Taking a deep breath, Sakura collected the two empty tea cups, stopping to pick up the shards of the broken one. Itachi helped her wash the tea off of the floor, and then he followed her into the kitchen, both of them silent. The weight of what Neji had told them was finally beginning to register.

It was the Uchiha Clan Massacre all over again. Sakura closed her eyes, ferociously scrubbing the tea-cups. She had sworn to Itachi that the village had changed. That Tsunade-sama would never do something like this to him again. She was so naive!

Itachi caught her wrist, turning her around to face him. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and she looked away from him.

"Sakura Haruno," he began in an eerily quiet tone, making her eyes shift back to look at him, "do not even begin to blame yourself for reviving me. Yes, it is a repeat of what happened. But, that's good. You have my experience to call upon. After all, I am the _only_ man who knows what is happening and what is going to happen in this situation." She nodded.

"Still... to think in this day-and-age that something like this would happen..." She closed her eyes. Itachi reached over, brushing a strand of her namesake hair behind her ear. He cupped her cheek, leaning down and pressing his forehead against hers.

"We'll get through this together. This is finally my chance to do the right thing," he told her. "This time, I won't make the same mistakes. This time, I'm not alone. And it's not my hand to murder the innocent." Sakura took a deep breath; Itachi's spicy scent filled her nostrils. "Sakura, I am sure that we can handle whatever happens. Together." There was almost a desperate tone in his voice. As if he were pleading with her not to abandon him. As if he were asking her to stay with him, through it all. She smiled softly, leaning up and pressing her lips to his.

Their kiss was soft and chaste. It was long, but nothing short of comforting and reassuring. She was going to be with him through the thick and thin. There was nothing that would pry her from his side. Not in this matter, at least.

"Haven't we been in this entire ordeal together from the very beginning? Nothing's changed, right?" He smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"No, nothing has changed. We're still in it together."

* * *

><p>It was hardly five o'clock in the morning when the annoying messenger bird tapped on the window of their bedroom. Sakura groaned, starting to roll out of bed to retrieve the letter. Itachi placed a hand on her hip, silently telling her that he would get the message. They had only just fallen asleep; not even thirty minutes of sleep since Neji had awoken them that morning.<p>

She waited for him to rejoin her in bed or tell her to get up, but neither happened. Eventually, his silence unnerved her and she cracked an eyelid to look at him. He was standing rigid, his back turned away from her.

"I've got to go, Sakura." She sat up, carefully watching him. "The Council has summoned me for a mission." Her eyes widened and she lept up, grabbing his sleeve.

"No!" she told him, her eyes pleading. What could the Council want with him? What would they do? Did they know about Neji confiding into them?

He hugged her to his chest, placing his chin on her head. He absentmindedly rubbed circles into her back.

"You know I have to go. To not go would look suspicious." She nodded, keeping her grip on his shirt. "Sakura. I'll be back. No matter what, I'll be back." Swallowing away her tears, she nodded, gnawing on her lip. "Go back to sleep." She shook her head, burying it into his chest. He ran a hand through her hair, finally lifting her face to him. He kissed her forehead, wiping away a stray tear. "I'll be fine. Sakura," he looked intently into her eyes, "go to sleep."

She had forgotten about his Sharingan! Without warning, she slumped against him, his dojutsu just as powerful as ever. Gently, he tucked her back into bed, pressing a final kiss to her lips. Taking a deep breath, he dashed out of the house and towards the Council.

Whatever they wanted, it would not be good. Not in the least.

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><p>"Don't you have work today?" She slowly opened her eyes, trying to clear her fuzzy thoughts. Sasuke stood at the edge of her bed, his head cocked at her confused. "Sleep in?" Her eyes widened, and she glanced at the clock. It was nearing 8:00, but that wasn't what made her panic.<p>

"Itachi! Where is that bastard?" Her fists clenched, fury in her veins as she remembered how he had knocked her unconscious with his dojutsu. She _hated_ when he used his Sharingan on her; hated when anyone used their Sharingan on her. "Is he home?" Sasuke slowly shook his head, regarding her curiously. "Shit! Shit! What do you mean no?"

"I haven't seen him," Sasuke ventured carefully.

"Fuck!" Sakura cursed, throwing her sheets aside. Sasuke stepped back, bewildered as to her fury and panic. He was used to Sakura having a relatively calm persona, and definitely not this frazzled state he was seeing in front of him. "Damn it!"

"Sakura?" Sakura was already stripping off her T-shirt and shorts, trying to find her kunoichi outfit. Sasuke averted his eyes, having no desire to spy on his brother's girlfriend in an indecent state. He knew he loved Sakura, but he would never endanger his relationship to his brother. And Sakura had always been that tottering point where both brothers never wanted to discuss.

It wasn't like Itachi wasn't already aware of the fact that Sasuke loved her. And it wasn't like Sasuke wasn't already aware of the fact that Itachi knew. But both brothers ignored the issue; if it didn't bother anyone, why make it into something? Sasuke knew how far he could go with Sakura without stepping on his brother's toes. He adhered to that line religiously.

Sakura pulled on a pair of black shorts, simultaneously pulling on a red shirt. Balancing precariously on one leg, she pulled on a shinobi sandal, gritting her teeth.

"Sakura?" Sasuke tried again. "What's going on?" Pulling her final boot on, Sakura began to speak rapidly.

"Neji was ordered to kill the Hyuuga Clan last night. He told Itachi and I as soon as he left the Council. Tsunade approved the mission, but Neji said she wasn't in the meeting. This morning at around five, Itachi was summoned by the Council for a mission. He knocked me out with his damn Sharingan; he hasn't returned." Her retelling was brief and concise. It took Sasuke a few moments to take in all the information she threw at him; when he finally wrapped his head around the entire situation, he was pissed. "Itachi should have been back by now. No mission briefing takes three damn hours." Sasuke picked up on a low mutter of curses out of Sakura's mouth. She hadn't been this angry in a long time.

She had certainly inherited her mentor's potty mouth, though, Sasuke noted dryly.

"That damn bastard! If he hadn't knocked me out with that damn Sharingan, I would have been able to go find him sooner. Oh... Oh... _fuck!_" Sakura exclaimed, leaning her head against the wall. "What if he's been captured, Sasuke? What the hell do we do? What if we're too late?" She had an edge to her voice; a panic that was throwing him off. It was like looking at a younger Sakura- one that was easily spooked and scared.

"Sakura, can you sense him?" Sasuke responded dryly, raising an eyebrow. She blinked, straightening up, and then nodding, flushing with embarrassment.

"Yeah. If I concentrate really hard, we can probably trace the chakra link. It's not as strong as it used to be, but he's still in the village. So I can still find him."

"Then let's go." She didn't have to be told twice. They dashed out of the window and even Sasuke had trouble keeping up with Sakura's break-neck pace. She was leading them around the village, dashing over roofs, flipping over branches, and practically flying over the roads.

When she finally skidded to a stop, Sasuke was perplexed as to where they were. It was on the outskirts of the village, in the forest surrounding the gates. Actually, if Sasuke were to be specific, it looked to be the forest right behind the Uchiha Compound. And sure enough, they both found Itachi sitting on a tree branch, staring off into space.

Sasuke turned to look at Sakura, who's face had flushed a splotchy shade of red. Her fists clenched and there was something scary in the anger he could feel from her.

"Itachi!" Sakura yelled, stamping her foot. Sasuke stepped out of the way of the tiny cracks that filtered through the ground. "What do you think you're doing?" She was ready to murder him. "You knocked me out and then you never come back? You're out here lazing around in a tree and I've been so worried. What the hell?" Sakura stepped up to the trunk of the tree, holding up a fist. "I can't believe how selfish, rude, inconsiderate-"

"Sakura, _shut up_," Sasuke told her harshly, looking up at his brother. There was something wrong with him, very wrong. There was a vacant, hollow look in his eye. He was disturbed; it was as if he were in a different time. "Hey, what happened?" Sasuke called up to him. Hearing his brother's voice, Itachi's eyes flickered to him.

"I received a mission," he told them. Sakura stepped back, cooling down. They waited to hear what Itachi would say. "The Council has learned from their mistakes, it seems. This time, they made an insurance so that their plans wouldn't fail."

"W-what happened?" Sakura asked him quietly. His eyes remained on the sky, gazing far off.

"I am to kill Neji and Hinata. The Council has received information that the two are planning a rebellion in the village. Once I have definite proof, or by the third of June, I am to execute the two. In essence, I am to wait until after the Hyuuga Clan Massacre."

"Well, maybe we could make this work!" Sakura exclaimed, her mind already reeling with new plans.

"That's not all," Itachi told her. "I am to kill Sasuke. Soon."

"Me?" Sasuke asked, swallowing hard.

"Yes. You." No wonder he was upset. Of course, Itachi wouldn't say he was, but they could both see it. It was just like the past repeating. He was assigned to murder people close to him, _again._ Past memories had to be resurfacing. Sakura lowered her eyes, ashamed at how she had yelled at him.

"As I was out," Itachi began, finally looking down at the two of them, "I managed to deliver messages to the shinobi we requested. Shikamaru, Kakashi, Sai, Naruto, and Hinata are all set to come to the hospital at 9:00. They will be sporadic. Sakura, you must go to work now. Sasuke, you are to follow her. I will be the last one to come." Sakura nodded, smoothing down her outfit. She gestured for Sasuke to follow her.

"Itachi," she spoke softly, getting his attention. "I'm sorry. I love you, okay? Everything will work out fine." And with that, Sasuke and Sakura took off towards the hospital. Itachi stared after her form, closing his eyes.

"If only..."

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><p>Sasuke stood casually by the medical counter, watching the incoming shinobi. None of the nurses bothered them, as they all knew why he was down there and not in Sakura's office. After a very loud and public stream of curses and a violent kicking of Sasuke down the hallway, everyone knew Sasuke had been relegated to the lobby area.<p>

But why he was actually there, that was only known by Sasuke and Sakura. They had staged the fight so that Sasuke could give directions to incoming shinobi. It was a simple plan and so far, it had been extremely effective. Already, Sasuke had sent Naruto, Sai, and Shikamaru up to Sakura's hidden room to meet. When everyone had been sent to the room, Sakura would come and retrieve Sasuke to come with her.

Kakashi walked in, whistling. Sasuke sighed, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey. What's happened with you? Been kicked out?" Kakashi asked him lightly. Sasuke sighed, nodding.

"I was being too disruptive, apparently. She grabbed my ear and dragged me down the hallway, before kicking me, literally, in the ass." To show, Sasuke moved his hair, showing Kakashi the bruise on his ear. As Kakashi leaned in, Sasuke slipped him a piece of paper with the instructions to Sakura's secret room.

"Brutal. You should know better than to mess with her at the hospital." Sasuke stood up, shaking his head.

"Sometimes I wonder how such a gentle nurse can be such a brute outside of healing. She's a living oxymoron." There was a smirk on Kakashi's face. "Speaking of which, didn't she force you to come in today?" Kakashi nodded, sighing.

"Mandatory check-up, she said. Apparently, she's been going through her files and getting all the shinobi that need check-ups."

"I've seen a bunch of people today, so that explains it. Eh, well, go on up to her office. She'll be happy to see you."

"Of course. Good luck, Sasuke." Sasuke gave a wry smile back to his sensei.

"Thanks, I'll need it." Kakashi disappeared into the hospital, while Sasuke returned to leaning against the counter. The time was dwindling; the other shinobi needed to come quickly. He knew they were still missing Neji and Hinata. Was that it, then? No, Itachi had to be there, too. But since Itachi knew where the room was, he was probably already there. Who knew, maybe Hinata and Neji had already entered the room. Sasuke had no idea. He was simply stuck there, waiting.

It had to be about fifteen minutes later when Sakura came down the stairs, offering a peace smile towards him. "You can come back to my office, now. Just be quiet, okay?" Sasuke nodded and they both walked calmly away from the lobby area. As soon as they turned a corner, spotting no one watching them, Sakura tugged on his sleeve and the two rushed down the hallway.

She opened a closet door, shoving him in, and followed in after him. Using her chakra, she climbed up the wall, pushing open a hidden trap door and sliding inside. Sasuke followed after her. From there, they were pressed tightly between two walls. Sakura slid through the slits, using her elbow to push open another door. Squeezing into the room, they finally found themselves with all the other shinobi. Neji, Hinata, and Itachi had already made it into the room.

"This was a back way. The way I would take political leaders is through another hallway and room; but this way is less noticeable. It's for a quick escape and for hiding." The room was rather small (they were all squished together), but definitely hidden. There were no windows and no noticeable doors. It was eerily quiet, even with all shinobi pressed together in the room.

"We have a situation," Sakura began, taking charge. She spoke quietly, looking intently at every shinobi. "As we all are aware of the truth of the Uchiha Massacre, we can speak freely here about what is happening. First, has anyone communicated with Tsunade-sama at any point today?"

"No, I was supposed to see her today; they said she was in an emergency meeting. I went ahead and received my scroll from one of her helpers," Shikamaru told them. Hinata nodded, echoing his sentiments. Sakura pursed her lips, turning to Neji.

"We haven't seen Tsunade-sama since last night. And this is important because Neji received a mission to execute the entire Hyuuga Clan." None of them could school their emotions. Everyone who had yet to hear about the mission had some sort of visible expression on their face. It was a mixture between wide eyes, to open mouths, to fear. "It gets worse. Itachi was called in today to receive a mission. He is to kill Neji and Hinata, as well as Sasuke. Both missions are to be completed by June third. Tsunade-sama has approved both missions, at that."

"The Council was the one to deliver the missions," Neji told them. "They are the ones behind it, obviously." There was an uneasy murmur in the room. Even Naruto, who typically would have responded loudly and violently, was subdued.

"We need a plan of action," Sakura declared the obvious, looking around. Shikamaru groaned, pressing fingers to his temples. "Things are getting progressively worse."

"Still, we have a pretty steady time window," Kakashi remarked. "It's only the fourteenth of May. We have a few weeks."

"Unless they escalate further," Itachi put in, closing his eyes. "They've learned from their previous mistakes. With me, I was the only one to enact the plans. This time, they have back-up. Had Neji never been privy to the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, there is no telling what he would have done. You can't say you wouldn't have done it, because before I was assigned the mission, I would have said the same thing." Itachi's eyes were hard, but there was something beneath them that was raw. This was not easy for him to speak about; everyone could see that much. "Assuming he had followed orders, killed all of his clan, besides Hinata, then on his part, everything would work out. He would figure that his name would be cleared and he could continue to live in the village. His mission is nearly the exact wording of my own mission. I was promised a spot back in the village; a spot as a hero. Yet, even then, the Council did not plan that. And they are not planning it for Neji, either. In my case, they were simply expecting me to be killed. If not during the mission, then by ANBU who would come after me, or by their own missions later. This time, the Council is preemptively striking. I kill Neji as soon as he kills his clan. And I take out Hinata, too." His eyes shifted to Sasuke.

"But there is one person who knows the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre. And that would be Sasuke. I take Sasuke out, then no one would connect the dots. Oh, sure, they figure by this point, Naruto probably knows the truth, too. But with his best friend and wife murdered, Naruto isn't going to be trying to connect this murder to the Council. He's going to see it as Neji snapping, as the ANBU doing his duty, everything being a poor, fatal mistake. Kakashi and Sakura may know the truth, but neither will speak of it. Or, you two will be taken care of before that is possible."

"This time, the Council is covering all angles," Kakashi muttered. "There won't be any mistakes and pardons like last time; everyone who knows anything will be eradicated." A cold chill swept over the room.

"But we have an advantage over them," Sakura began. "We have Itachi, whom they think is dead. No one has figured Arata's connection with Itachi, or if they suspicion it, they don't any longer. He's been here over a year. Furthermore, they didn't believe Neji knew about the Uchiha Massacre. That puts us at another advantage. And thirdly, we all know about it. So we're at least a few steps ahead of the Council."

"So what is our plan?" Naruto finally spoke up, looking around. "What is our first priority? Find Tsunade-sama and fix her?" They all nodded.

"That would be the best plan. Once Tsunade is back on our side, we can go after the Council through her. Until then, we keep everything quiet and monitor the actions of the Council. Be vigilant in everything," Shikamaru declared. "And we need to keep in constant contact in some way. Let's set up a chain of communication. Sakura and I will go between one another. Through Sakura, she will spread information to Team Seven and Itachi. Itachi can spread it to Neji; or Naruto can spread it to Hinata, who will speak to Neji. If Sakura is not available for communication, I will speak directly to Naruto or Kakashi, who will take the role of Sakura. Remember, don't go out of your way to find us. Keep natural looking lines of communication. When we need to meet, we will meet here."

"Good plan!" Naruto grinned, slapping him on the back. "Now, how do we go about this thing with Tsunade?"

"Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto are optimal for this mission," Shikamaru told them. "Especially Naruto and Sakura. Both of you are forceful and very close to Tsunade-sama. It'll look natural if you're searching for her. Do what you can." Both shinobi nodded. "Kakashi, you keep popping into her office, like you normally do. Eventually, your presence will unnerve the Council. It should force them to make another move. We need to see what else they are planning if we are to easily stop them."

"Good. Then with this, let's go out there and stop them," Sakura declared, grinning. "We can do this!"

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><p>Sometimes, her positivity killed her. It was lunch-time, and deciding to take this time to drop in on her mentor, Sakura was sorely disappointed with her results. In then end, it was the biggest waste of her precious hour.<p>

She was so sure that she'd come in demanding to see Tsunade and everyone would sort of freeze and get all nervous and point her towards the direction of the Council. There, Sakura would make the Council members sweat as she demanded to see her mentor. Or, she would go to Tsunade's office and see an impersonator of Tsunade. Where, of course, Sakura would confront this imposter with difficult questions that no one except Tsunade could answer.

What she wasn't expecting to see was a completely normal Tsunade sitting at her desk, easily answering all of Sakura's questions, and acting as if nothing had happened. Sakura was in a bit of a bewildered predicament. Obviously, she couldn't demand to know why Tsunade had signed the Hyuuga Massacre, because if this was just a clone, then the Council would probably find out. And they would know that Sakura knew, which compromised everything. And the more Sakura talked to Tsunade, the more Tsunade became suspicious.

It was an epic fail. The Council was... much smarter than Sakura gave them credit for. Obviously, that Tsunade had to be a clone of some sort. But there was... nothing anyone could do about it. Because it was surely controlled by the Council; they couldn't say _anything_ to her!

So, she was back in the hospital, brooding at her desk. Itachi was leaning against the wall, silently mulling over everything she had told him.

"We could always destroy the clone," Sakura suggested. Itachi shook his head.

"No, they would simply replace her. It is an easy cover story as to why Tsunade-sama would have a clone, too. She has made clones of herself several times before in the past and has been caught." Sakura frowned, tapping a pencil against her desk.

"Now what?"

"We will have to approach this in a different way."

"You two could just... not do the mission."

"They would get someone else who would do it." They lapsed into silence again, neither having a great idea as to what to do next. Within a few minutes, both shinobi, annoyed, looked up, having noticed an incoming presence. As the presence got closer, the two shinobi stood up, looking curiously out the window.

"Is that Naruto?" Sakura asked him. Itachi nodded. She sighed, opening the window as the blonde skidded into the office. "What's the rush?" There was something serious in Naruto's eyes that took away Sakura's joking nature. He wiped the sweat off of his brow, frowning severely.

"We have a big problem. And they are coming here now."

"What?" All three of them turned to the door as it opened, the two Councilors and a squad of ANBU surrounding them. "Naruto? What's going on?" Sakura asked him. Naruto's eyes were wide and he placed a hand on Sakura's shoulders, facing the Council.

"Sakura Haruno you are being arrested for multiple counts of criminal activities and treason. You have tampered with official documents for the Hokage; read classified scrolls and information; conducted experimental jutsus under the nature of kinjutsu; and placed an illegal amount of seals on your person. Furthermore, you are involved in the release of a known criminal, and under treasonous charges, you have willingly broken rules of his probation by enabling the act of a forbidden jutsu on Sasuke Uchiha's person. By reactivating his Sharingan and then disabling it, you are trying to cover your previous crimes. For this, Sakura Haruno, you are being arrested." Sakura's eyes widened and she turned wildly to Naruto.

"W-what's happening?" He gripped her shoulders tightly, closing his eyes.

"Naruto Uzumaki, for your own covering-up of this operation on Sasuke Uchiha and your involvement in his release, your position as Sixth Hokage is being revoked, considering this matter is an offense of the utmost severity. We do not have to call an official meeting with Clan Leaders- instead, we can simply revoke the position." Sakura could feel Naruto's fingers twitch, digging into her shoulders, and his entire body tense behind her. "Furthermore, for spying on meetings that you have no part in, we are placing you under house-arrest. You are not to leave your home for six months; if you do, we will place you in prison."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked again, looking at him. Itachi stood deathly still in the corner of the room, watching. "Naruto?"

"Seize the traitor," Koharu told them, gesturing for the ANBU guards. Sakura gripped Naruto's hand, looking at him and then towards Itachi.

"What happened, Naruto? Naruto? NARUTO!" ANBU cuffed her, gripping her tightly, dragging her away. "Arata! Please- I- Stop! Stop! What's happening?" Sakura tried to reach out to them, but her hands were bound tightly behind her back. Koharu and Homura looked at her, shaking their heads. As she was dragged out of her office, she could see the remaining ANBU begin to escort Naruto away, and Itachi's furious look as he stepped out of the way.

Right before one of the ANBU knocked her out, Sakura saw her boyfriend look back at her. His eyes, usually the brightest of blues, had turned to reddish-violet. She could even make out the pattern of the Sharingan because of how bright his eyes were glowing. That brief second of eye-contact was enough to send her into his Sharingan world. She closed her eyes, knowing as she was pulled into his jutsu, that they were not defeated yet. This was only the beginning of what was to come.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I know it's been since April since I updated. And I know this was such a short chapter. Next chapter will be sorta short, too. But...! If we're lucky, I might just update this weekend. Just to make up for everything.<p>

Now, to explain why it's taken so many months. Even last chapter, I was late in updating- I believe I mentioned how busy and crazy my life was. Well, everything sort of erupted in the month of May. This has been my senior year of high school, so I spent the last few weeks of April studying like crazy for AP tests; after two weeks of hellish AP testing, I had prom, awards ceremonies, final exams, and a bunch of other shizz that I've blocked out. For the last few weeks in May, I would go to school, come home and study/work/etc, and go to bed. I don't even remember what happened in May until after my graduation because I was so stressed. Now, I finally wrapped up everything with school, fallen into a routine at work, and finished my vacation. So now my updating schedule should be back on target.

Granted, considering this story only has like four chapters left, it's not that big of a deal anyways lol Speaking of which, around Chapter Twenty-Four, maybe even Twenty-Five, I'll pose the question again about continuing this story with a sequel. I have decided, definitely, how to end this story, and it'll be open-ended enough that if I wanted to, I could create a sequel. But just think about it for now and when I ask, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions! :)

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><p>Now, for any notes with this chapter. One thing I would like to bring up, not necessarily a note, per se, but just a funny fact about the reviews from last chapter- I got so many people saying that Neji's mission was so unexpected, and then, I'd get other reviews that were like, "Meh. Totally cliche. How typical." Haha, I didn't know how to react. I was so flabbergasted that I just sort of grinned and went on with my day. I have dropped hints about what would happen for awhile, but I didn't make it completely obvious, I thought? Sometimes, I just can't predict what you guys are going to tell me! lol<p>

1. Sakura's freak out panic attack on Sasuke- when she woke up and realized Itachi wasn't back, she sort of freaked. Even Sasuke was like, "Woah, she's ooc!" The reason for this is mostly because Sakura has reached a point where she's expecting everyone to know that Arata and Itachi are one in the same. When he knocked her out (something that is always a sore spot for her) and then hadn't returned three hours later, she just went to the worse thought which was, "Oh God, they know that he's Itachi and they're going to kill him!" That's why she's freaking out so much lol

2. I'll explain this much more next chapter, but the reason Naruto didn't even try to protect Sakura as she was being arrested was because he knew exactly what was coming. Same thing with Itachi. They knew by trying to fight off the ANBU guards from arresting Sakura would just endanger her and them even more.

Anything else, be sure to ask! :D

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><p><em><strong>Next chapter:<strong>_

_As Sakura remains in prison, her team outside desperately tries to make a counterattack. But, before things can get better, it must get worse. Quick thinking, planning, and friendship isn't always enough. Things have become a lot more real now...  
><em>

_**Chapter Twenty-Two: Backfire**_

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><p>Well, tell me what you guys think! Thanks for reading and sorry for such the long delay! :)<em><strong><br>**_


	22. Chapter 22: Backfire

Did anyone read the latest chapter of Naruto? It made me cry. Such a beautiful chapter.

Anyways, thank you all so much! I realized that this story has hit the 500 review mark and I was freaking amazed and so grateful to everyone. Thank you all so much! :'D

Now one thing that I want to address before we begin (and bear with me because this might be a bit long) but I've gotten a few reviews that are asking why Itachi and Sakura didn't simply assassinate the Council right after they saw Neji's mission; or why they are planning all this stuff when in the end, they are simply going to kill the Council; or why didn't they just show the entire village Neji's scroll because that would prove that the Council is doing something illegal. I'll address each of these questions one at a time :)

1. Itachi and Sakura didn't assassinate, or immediately plan to assassinate the Council, because they knew that the repercussions would not go over well. For one, to the village, it would seem that their honorable Councilors were just killed for no reason. The blame would immediately be shifted onto Sasuke (who was publicly known as hating the Council). Secondly, I don't think it's in Sakura and Itachi's characterizations to jump straight to murder. They would have wanted to work this out as diplomatically as possible without any bloodshed.

2. Why are they planning all this stuff? Well, for one, they didn't really plan all this "stuff". All they simply planned was a safe meeting place to talk to some other people, and once they met, they decided that their first priority would be to find and fix Tsunade. Again, they are trying to avoid the bloodshed. Having Tsunade on their side would nearly guarantee an end to the Hyuuga Massacre plot. Secondly, with this question, everyone assumes that the Council will be killed off at the end. But that is all assumptions. I haven't decided whether or not that will happen yet.

3. Finally, Itachi and Sakura didn't show the scroll to anyone else because who was there to believe them? Tsunade and the Council are looked up to as the pinnacle of reason, honesty, and truth. With Tsunade under the Council's control, there was no one powerful or influential enough to give them credibility to their tale. They could tell the truth, and I'm sure the people would want it looked into, but then it would become a big mess between the village, and because it's such a big tale, it would involve the Fire Damiyo and probably other Kages and what not. However, I will say that this is the route that Sakura and Itachi were most likely to take. But, they didn't exactly have the time to enact this plan. Please remember that they didn't even have a day to do anything. And, as one last note, who said what the Council was doing was illegal? If they had sufficient enough proof that by killing off the Hyuuga Clan (for rebellion or whatnot) then it's perfectly within their rights to execute traitors or those who endanger the village. Assuming they have the proof, the Council really hasn't done anything illegal that would warrant their death. They're just trying to protect the village.

Okay, I'm done. I'm sorry that was so long. I normally just reply through messages to the reviews that ask these sort of questions, but one of the reviews I got about this was anonymous so I couldn't respond. Thus, I decided to respond publicly :) Okay, now onto the chapter!

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Two: <span>_Backfire_

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><p>Waking up in prison left her head foggy and disoriented. Sakura opened her eyes, trying to focus on her surroundings. Not only had the ANBU guard hit her quite hard, but the Sharingan always left her nauseous and her head reeling.<p>

She leaned against the wall, noting dryly that her hands were, thankfully, no longer bound. They had drained most of her chakra, and besides the knot on the back of her head from where she was dropped in the cell, she was fine. Continuing to look around, she noted that her prison cell was decent. A bed, a sink and toilet, and even a window.

Technically, she could easily escape from the prison. For one, they had left her enough chakra to activate her seals, which could, of course, give her plenty of chakra to escape. Or, she could transport to Itachi's side with their seal- they had only drained her chakra, not blocked it.

But, as Itachi told her through his Sharingan, she was not to move. He specifically told her to remain low and be obedient. He would speak to Naruto and figure out what had happened. Then he would work with the rest of their alliance to make a plan. Soon enough, he would contact her.

So she waited, deciding it would be best to regain her strength. And try and figure out what the heck had happened. Everything had seemed fine, but apparently, the Council were moving quicker than anyone had imagined.

For one, they had found out about Sasuke's eyes. Tsunade must have examined him at some point. They had also found out about Sakura's seals and some of her experiments. She assumed they had not found out about Itachi because they never specifically claimed him in her list of crimes. Furthermore, they made no move to arrest him, which they surely would have if they had known him to be Itachi. Yet, they had found out about her reading scrolls in the Archive Library.

Sakura sighed, getting up and settling on her bed. She needed a plan of some sort to pass the time until Itachi came to her. There had to be a time limit until she broke out to find him. She would wait three days; if he hadn't contacted her within that time, she would contact him. Even if it meant sneaking out and then sneaking back in, she would.

Granted, she should be able to sense anything going wrong on his end. Their chakra bond worked really well when they were both within the village. She had noted quite a few quirks about their bond that she hadn't bothered to share with Tsunade; that might be a good thing at this point in time, too.

For one, in close ranges (like in the village) their injuries didn't affect the other person. That was why they could spar together, or Sakura could get pummeled by Tsunade without killing him. They had to be careful in sparring when one of them were out of the village, but when they were both close to each other, they could go all out. Sakura had finally figured that the chakra bond was able to recognize the differences in their seals and chakra when in close proximity. When they were farther away, the bond became diluted in its sensing power and simply strained to function. That was why when they were both hurt by injuries the bond could not differentiate between their two chakra signatures and thus, the bond replicated the nerve damage and pain onto both of them.

Secondly, everything affected Itachi more. Pain, emotions, distances- if it was happening to her, it was multiplied in feeling to him. Conversely, she could benefit from their bond more. She could transport to him in emergencies, she could function (mostly) normally when he was injured, and she could easily pinpoint him when he was farther away. He, however, could sense her injuries better (and feel them) as well as read her emotions through the link because of how her chakra moved within him. Distances faded their bond and made everything more apparent to him because her chakra reacted stronger (it acted as if it wanted to return to her body, so it mimicked whatever her body did).

Thirdly, she suspicioned that she might be able to use the chakra bond as some sort of communication link to Itachi. As of yet, though, she had not been able to figure out how. But if she could learn to control her chakra from far distances, she was sure she could send him messages through the chakra link. That, however, was something simply suspicioned and may not be possible. They would work on that after the entire ordeal with the Hyuuga Massacre was over.

Sighing again, Sakura reclined on the bed, wondering what to do with herself. She'd never been stationary like this. She was used to moving and working and healing. She was always doing something. Relaxing didn't feel right to her. It made her antsy.

Granted, she knew relaxing was good in her case right now. She needed rest; her body was still recovering from the hell Tsunade had put it through, after all. She knew Tsunade ended her training so suddenly because Sakura needed to recover and take it easy. Her body had been too stressed and fractured to be healthy. A break was needed. Sakura was sure she would resume her training soon enough.

Gently, she rested a hand on her stomach, throwing her other hand over her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Soon enough, everything will go back to normal," she spoke aloud, closing her eyes. "We'll all be together and happy; everyone will be happy."

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><p>Itachi opened the door to his home, trying not to call out to Sakura. It was his habit to greet her. He gently closed the door, leaning down to pet Heiwa as he walked. The dog seemed to sense that something was wrong, weakly wagging his tail.<p>

"No, no Sakura tonight." He scratched the dog's ears, closing his eyes. "Not for a while." He glanced up at the clock, figuring it wouldn't be long until Sasuke returned home. Sasuke was teaching his genin team today. He would be have heard about Sakura by now. He would be bursting into the home at any moment, demanding answers.

Answers Itachi wasn't sure what to do with. His mind was still reeling with everything that had happened in the past few hours; it was becoming more than he knew what to do with. He could handle it, of course he could, but it was not an easy task. His girlfriend was arrested, his brother was going to be arrested, he had been assigned a mission to kill some of his close friends, and his past sins were appearing more vividly than he could comprehend.

Once Sakura was dragged out of her office, Itachi was left there with Naruto, staring at the Council. The remaining guards seized Naruto, while the Council nodded for Itachi to excuse himself. He slipped out of the window, locking eyes with Sakura, and then a second later, locking eyes with Naruto. His Sharingan was an amazing tool that when he utilized it, it was an essential weapon in his arsenal.

While he had used his Sharingan to give instructions to Sakura, with Naruto, he had used it to find out exactly what had occurred. Even Naruto didn't understand exactly what had happened, though he tried to explain it the best he could.

From what Naruto had pieced together, the Council had found out bits and pieces of what Sakura and Sasuke had done. Apparently, they had known about Sasuke's Sharingan being reactivated since the time Sasuke had returned home from the Team Seven mission; or at least, Tsunade had. It seemed as if Tsunade was going to let the offense slide- but when the Council had placed Tsunade under their control, they found out many of the woman's secrets.

They had found out about Sasuke's eyes, Sakura and Naruto's participation in covering up Sasuke's eye violation, and then a plethora of offenses for Sakura- including reading classified documents (which, Naruto was sure that the Council knew that Sakura knew the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre), and her tampering with illegal jutsus. However, Naruto assured him, the Council had not known about Arata and Itachi being the same person.

The only reason Naruto knew so much was from eavesdropping on the Council in a meeting. He had actually went to find Tsunade, but finding her to be in a meeting with the Council, he decided it would be in his best interest to listen in on them. Unfortunately, they caught him right at the very end of the meeting as he tried to flee.

Itachi and Naruto both pieced together what they thought the Council's plot was. The Council was trying to remove the Hyuuga Clan- while a vital piece of the village, it was something that was becoming unruly and troublesome. In the end, the Hyuuga Clan could no longer be controlled by the Council. They mostly wanted rid of Neji and Hinata, _especially_ Hinata. The rest of the Clan was simply collateral damage.

This led into their next plot to get rid of Team Seven. They absolutely hated Sasuke and were going to do anything to kill him. Next was Sakura, who, though an asset to the village, was far too intelligent and close to Tsunade. Thus, by imprisoning Sakura during this time, she would be out of the way and unable to ruin the Hyuuga Plan. Likely, she would be killed. Kakashi and Sai would be next- however, they were ones that could be sent out on long-term missions and when they returned, they would be stealthily swept underneath the rug- something "accidental" like a poisoning or mission fatality. Naruto would be the only one to remain alive, but without his wife, best friends, teammates, or a support system, he would become so depressed that it would be the same as if he weren't alive at all. After all, they couldn't _kill_ Naruto, considering that he was the vessel for the Nine-tails. If Naruto died, the demon fox would run rampant.

All in all, the plan would have worked. At least, if Sakura hadn't revived Itachi. Itachi was the ace up their sleeve- he was the thing that would make everything come together and work out for their side.

"Itachi!" Sasuke bellowed as soon as he walked in the door. Itachi snapped out of his thoughts, turning towards his younger brother. "What the hell is going on?"

"Do not yell so loud. Someone may hear you," Itachi responded, narrowing his eyes. "Sakura has been arrested, as I assume you have heard. You will be arrested soon enough. Be on your best behavior when you're in jail; do not try to escape. I am going to work with Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Sai to make a counter plan."

"No! That's not what I'm talking about. Sakura is going to be executed in three days!" Itachi's eyes widened; that was not part of the plan.

"Executed?" Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, nodding.

"It was announced as I was coming home. They said her offenses are of the highest caliber. They aren't even giving her a trial; Tsunade is using her authority to make it happen." There was a spark of fury and fear that spread through Itachi's body. Sakura couldn't die. He would never allow that.

"...It looks like we're going to have to plan for more of an urgent counterattack, then. We may need more help than I previously believed." Both shinobi froze as rapid pounding sounded on the front door. Itachi finally was the one to get the door, deciding that the person didn't seem hostile towards them.

It was Ino- a very panic-stricken Ino. She barreled into the house, looking at Sasuke and Itachi. Her eyes narrowed into a fierce glare and she jabbed a finger into Itachi's chest.

"Tell me what the _fuck_ is going on here and what is happening with my best friend. Why is the Hokage's pupil going to be executed in three days for a shit ton of crimes she didn't commit? Because I'm about to go ape shit on the village, but before I do, I want to know what the hell is going on. And the two that would know the best would be you two. Because I've realized that Sakura has apparently been hiding a shit ton of information from me." They had to give Ino credit- she was intelligent.

Itachi hesitated for a few seconds, clearly weighing the pros and cons of telling Ino the truth. Finally, he deemed the girl trustworthy enough to tell, and figured she would be a great ally of theirs anyway. And at the moment, they needed all the help they could get.

"Ino, there is a lot she hasn't told you. You should sit down as I explain." He gestured towards the couch, but Ino stood her ground firmly, crossing her arms and glaring. "First off, my name is not Arata Genji. My name is Itachi Uchiha."

Her arms dropped as her eyes widened. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she marched to the couch and sat, willing to listen.

* * *

><p>It was so quiet in the prison. It was almost like being in a completely other world. Sakura wasn't sure what else she could do inside the room. It had been hours since her capture. There had been absolutely no word from anyone. The few guards that had passed by her cell were totally silent, and then the one that brought her dinner had barely said anything.<p>

She was sort of upset by the treatment, to be completely honest. Just because they said that she was a traitor, it shouldn't have discredited everything she had done. She had healed all of these guards at one point or another- she had saved their lives!

This must have been how Itachi had felt. Granted, he seriously _had_ killed the Uchiha Clan, but the village turned against him so quickly and violently, accepting exactly what the leaders said he did. They ignored the entire fact that he had been their favorite shinobi before that point. They ignored the fact that he had always been a loyal ninja that everyone praised- everyone from the Hokage to the lowest cart pusher.

But her? She was the angel of Konoha. She was the one who saved lives, who was the pupil of the Hokage, the best friend to the savior of Konoha. Everyone had always loved her, but yet, it was like they were tossing her aside without a second thought. It really wasn't fair.

She sighed, resting a hand on her stomach, looking up at the ceiling. She had already slept for several hours- if she had to guess, it was probably about three o'clock in the morning. Sakura couldn't deny the fact that she was hoping that any second, someone would come and visit her. But who it would be, she wasn't sure. She was expecting Itachi, but he would probably be under extreme scrutiny right now. So maybe Shikamaru?

Waiting had to be the hardest part of all of this. Waiting and not knowing; it was torture. She would rather be fighting, planning, healing- something other than this. But laying in bed, staring at the ceiling...

She would die from boredom before long.

* * *

><p>The sun had risen, had got to the highest point in the sky, and had already set. There was still no word from anyone.<p>

As the sky turned pitch black, Sakura perked up, finally hearing footsteps. Dinner had already been served, so she knew it had to be someone different. She was hoping with everything in her that it was Itachi, or at least one of her friends.

But it was not. Instead, it was an ANBU member.

"Sakura Haruno," the man declared. Sakura stood up, facing him through the bars. She met his eyes, staring at him defiantly. "I am here to report your new sentence. You will be executed in public for treason in two days." At first, the words didn't register.

Once it did, her blood went cold. She felt her breath leave her body in a rush. She was going to faint.

"T-that's... impossible." This had all been just a joke. It wasn't really that serious to her- she knew she was going to be fine. Everything would be fine. She was just staying in prison to humor them, to follow Itachi's orders. Within a few days, she would be back home, safe and sound in Itachi's arms, laughing about the entire ordeal.

It had suddenly become a lot more real.

"Execution?" Sakura mumbled, reaching for the bars. She gripped them tightly, pressing her face against the cold steel. The ANBU watched her impassively. "Please. Why? What have I done?" Sakura felt the tears gather in the corners of her eyes. "I've saved your life. I've saved your teammates lives. I haven't done anything detrimental to the village. I love this village. Why would they want to execute me?"

She could see the ANBU waver. He tensed, looking at her. Gently, he reached out, touching her hand.

"Sakura-san, if I could..." he murmured, leaning down. "If I could do something, I would. We all would. It doesn't make any sense at all." She looked up at him. "Have faith." He nodded once, taking a step back. "Excuse me." He walked briskly away, leaving Sakura leaning against the bars.

Her hands trembled and she felt the tears gather in her eyes. This had gone too far. This had all gotten out of control and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. If she were to break out of prison, then after the mess with the Council, she'd still be in trouble.

She couldn't be executed, though. It would literally kill Itachi. She had to get out. She had to do something and run away or... She didn't know what to do. She could feel her knees wobble and quickly, they gave out. Sakura slid down the poles, tears sliding down her face. She gripped the bars and she took a deep, hiccuping breath.

Executed. Executed. She was a criminal, a treasonous criminal, hated. Executed. Executed. _Executed._

How could this have happened? How could this have escalated so quickly? How could she be executed...?

* * *

><p>He found her crumpled against the jail cells, her hands desperately clenching the cell bars. Tears had dried against her cheeks, and even though she was asleep, he could still see her uneven breathing, as if she were still crying.<p>

He leaned down, stroking a strand of her hair. Her eyes fluttered with his touch. Tears welled in her eyes as soon as she saw him.

"Itachi..." she whispered, her lower lip trembling. "They're going to kill me." He smiled softly, shaking his head, pressing a soft kiss to her head through the bars.

"No, no they aren't. I'll protect you." She looked up at him, gripping his hand tightly. "We're going to fix this. I have a plan. Are you willing to trust me?"

"Of course. Of course I am." Sakura reached up, touching his face. "I'll do whatever you want."

"You're going to stay here the entire time. You're going to go to your trial, since it is public, and you're going to tell the truth. Whatever happens, happens."

"The... truth?"

"About the Hyuuga Clan. Why they are doing this to you. And how Tsunade is not Tsunade." She nodded. "Then, when the Council tries to kill you, I will step in. Well, _we_ will step in. At this point in time, I am coordinating my attacks with my allies. We are trying to find as many allies as possible. Rookie Eleven is, of course, on our side. Right now, I'm in the process of speaking to a few other allies- but until we get confirmed word, nothing is certain. We'll all work together to incapacitate the Council and Tsunade until we can get this settled correctly."

"So things are looking up?" Sakura asked. Itachi nodded, stroking her hair. "What about Sasuke?"

"He was supposed to be arrested yesterday. However, with some quick thinking from Ino, Sasuke was saved. She injured him in a particular fashion that has put him in the hospital. Most nurses cannot fix him, and even if they do, she sneaks him and re-injures him. When you are to be executed, she will heal him and he will be available to aid us."

"This sounds like a good plan," Sakura told him lightly. Itachi nodded, kissing her head again.

"Be strong, Sakura. Just a few more days. We'll be together again. Okay?" She nodded, interlacing her fingers with his. "I've got to go. Unless something urgent comes up, I won't see you again until your execution date."

"Wait! Itachi!" She gripped his hand. "How will I know that something bad hasn't happened to you? If I tell the truth and you guys are... are captured or something... how will I know...?" Itachi simply shook his head, giving her a light smile.

"Sometimes, you forget some of the most basic facts. I _am_ Itachi Uchiha. I've been avoiding Konoha shinobi all of my life. Two days isn't hard at all. And I'm even stronger than I was back then. Do not worry about me; I am the least of your worries. I can always handle my side of things- you concentrate on you. Make sure you keep a reserve of chakra so that you can fight. Enough to activate your seals, understand? I believe Tsunade-sama taught you that before you two quit training?"

"Yeah, she did. It was one of the first things we covered again. After breaking out of chakra ropes, the next lesson was hiding a small reserve of chakra that not even chakra stealing jutsus could detect."

"Good. Make sure you do that." He looked back, frowning. "The guards to going to wake up soon. I need to leave. Stay in good health. I'll see you soon."

"Of course. Itachi," she reached out, touching his hand. He stopped, looking back at her. "I love you." There was another small smile, and he closed his eyes. He nodded and disappeared into the shadows.

Sakura took a deep breath, looking back through the window. She was worried- of course she was. She was extremely nervous. But, this was just another mission. Another day. She just had to get there and do it. Sometimes over thinking it just made it worse. She would prepare and then just... just _do _it.

* * *

><p>Ino laced her fingers together, staring intently at Shikamaru. He slid the map across the table to her and her eyes roved over it, looking at his markings. A beautifully manicured nail tapped one of the X's on the map. It was located on the Hokage Tower.<p>

"Why are the strongest forces concentrated there?"

"Because Sasuke and Itachi can react the fastest." She nodded mutely, drawing her finger across the page.

"But Sasuke is supposed to be with me at the hospital."

"You two are supposed to defeat the guards near him, hopefully covertly, and then once on the roof, he's to rush to Itachi's spot." Ino nodded again.

"Now these ones, the ones you marked with white," Ino gestured to the outer ring of X's, "how are you to be sure that they can handle their duties?"

"All we simply told them was that we are saving Sakura on her execution date. They aren't privy to the more sensitive nature of this mission. So they are only trying to hold back incoming shinobi. Their goals are simply to distract and disarray. We want time."

"And then these forces hold back the rest of the shinobi?" Ino pointed to the next colored X's in the middle. Shikamaru nodded.

"They are blocking major street pathways and are to hold back shinobi. That's why you are staying at the hospital. You're our healer for this mission. You're to jump down, heal our allies, and then retreat back to the hospital roof."

"Understood," Ino replied automatically. "And then while we are holding back enemies, you guys are going to be dealing with the innermost circle." She pointed to the ring surrounding the Hokage Monument where Sakura was to be executed.

"Exactly. I'll be the closest to Sakura on the mountain. Itachi and Sasuke will be directly across from her on the Academy roof/Hokage Tower. Neji and Hinata are going to subdue most of the ANBU before she's to be executed, and then once it starts, they'll rush to her from behind. Same with Sai."

"And then we have Kakashi and Naruto moving upwards." He nodded again.

"In the end, we'll have all of Team Seven focused around Sakura directly in line with the majority of the rough fighting."

"Tsunade-sama will be there."

"I'm aware. That's why Team Seven and Itachi are there. They are the ones meant to subdue her."

"What about our fathers? What are they going to do?"

"I expect them to hold back with the other shinobi in the outer lines. If necessary, they will fall back to the middle with the Rookie Eleven."

"Then this sounds good. I think it'll work." He grinned at her approval. "And, of course, we still have the ace up our sleeve?"

"Confirmed this morning. We have our ace." Their grins were beyond triumphant.

"We can't lose, then. Shikamaru, tomorrow is the last day. And then it'll be time." She closed her eyes, imagining. "We can right the wrongs. Reveal the truth. It's time."

"Yes. Yes it is. We put an end to this madness."

* * *

><p>"Ah, Arata, please, sit." Itachi pulled out the chair, sitting across from the two Council members. "We wished to speak you sooner, but things came up... Anyways, we are aware of your relationship with Sakura. And we know that with our sudden announcement of her treason, and her upcoming... <em>punishment<em>, you may not be in the most stable state of mind. After all, she was your girlfriend and she was the reason you moved to this village."

"Yes," Itachi responded guardedly.

"Well, we would like you to know that even with Sakura's... _departure_, you will still be welcomed in this village. That is, provided you do nothing to help her escape. And you follow through with you assigned mission."

"Of course."

"However, we're not foolish, Arata. She _is_ your girlfriend after all, and Sasuke is your best friend. We are sure that you are planning something. After all, you have all the capabilities of saving her," Homura told him, folding his hands. Itachi remained motionless, staring at them.

"I should free her," he told them. "However, I'm given to believe that many of her crimes occurred before I came to this village?" They nodded. "And as for her healing Sasuke's eyes, I was not aware of her healing them. I mean, I do remember her doing a procedure on his eyes. However, I simply believed it was to re-sever them."

"Of course, of course. But this still doesn't mean that you won't try to save her. After all, she did cure your disease and she brought you to the village."

"We're given to believe that you two were extraordinarily close. We've heard mentions of marriage around the village." His eyebrows creased.

"I don't deny the fact that we were dating. But marriage has never been discussed or even put up for consideration between us." The two Councilors nodded, staring intently at him. Koharu was next to speak.

"Then let us address another issue. We've also heard rumors that you and Sakura were not doing too well right now. Spreading like wildfire is the idea that Sakura and Sasuke were having an affair behind your back. After all, they are teachers together now, and they do live together. They also have such a long history, and it's common knowledge that Sakura loved Sasuke for many, many years. It wouldn't be surprising if such a thing happened. In fact, it would be more surprising if it _didn't_ happen."

"Yes, I'm aware of that... idea." He was aware of it because he had been the one to spread the rumor; well, he came up with the story and Ino was the one to spread it. It didn't take long to make it all around the village.

"Is there any truth to it?" Itachi averted his eyes, staring hard at the wall. "I take that as a yes?"

"I have never caught them doing anything. But I do not know what Sakura does at all times and she is with Sasuke often. Even when I am not home, they are in the same house alone for hours. I am aware of the fact that Sasuke loves her. And I am sure that there are lingering feelings Sakura still holds for him."

"Sounds like your relationship might have hit a dead spot, then," Koharu remarked shrewdly.

"We were having problems, yes. However, I do not wish Sakura dead. She is still my girlfriend and I love her deeply. If I could do anything to save her, I would."

"Are you going to?"

"...I would like to, yes," Itachi replied honestly; the first fully honest statement he had spoken during the entire meeting. Koharu and Homura frowned deeply, narrowing their eyes on him.

"We were hoping to not have to place you under watch. After all, we already have our ANBU members stretched thin with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's other friends. So we shall be level with you, Arata; if you try and rescue your girlfriend, you will be dealt the same punishment as her. You will be executed for trying to help her, even if you do not succeed. I hope you take heed to our words."

"...Of course."

"You've proven yourself to be a very loyal Konoha shinobi. You've risen quickly through the ranks and are a promising candidate for several more promotions. Actually," there was a grin that spread across Koharu's face, "we were hoping to give you the title of Sixth Hokage. Now that Naruto has been shamed by this scandal with Sasuke- honestly, we knew that that boy would be Naruto's downfall- you're the most likely candidate for Hokageship. Kakashi, is of course, tied too tightly with this entire mess with Sasuke and Team Seven. Neji was up for the promotion but... odd issues have been going on with the Hyuuga Clan. And, as you're well aware, we believe he is planning a rebellion. Shikamaru, while our first choice, is not physically up to par with the Kage standards. That is why we wished for someone intelligent, tactical, well-liked, and extraordinarily strong."

"I have not lived in Konoha very long."

"No matter. As long as you prove yourself to be a loyal shinobi, the entire village shall be yours. Soon enough. By August, at the latest." He knew what they were doing. And if he had been any other shinobi, he was sure he would have taken the deal.

After all, to the Council, they were simply trying to promote an extremely talented shinobi into a very powerful position. If he, though new, were to become Hokage after several very disastrous events in Konoha (Sakura's execution, Sasuke's execution, Naruto's Hokage revocation, the Hyuuga Clan Massacre, Hinata and Neji's murders, and the deportation of Kakashi and Sai) he would become a beacon of hope for the demoralized Konoha citizens. They would depend on him to be stable and revive the village. Which, of course, he would do. It would lead them to forget all the events that had transpired.

And if he were truly Arata Genji, he was sure he would have taken the bait. After all, if he had no idea about Neji's mission, the truth about Sakura, Sasuke, or anything else going on behind the scenes, he would have been led to believe the honorable Council and Tsunade. And, despite the fact it would be his girlfriend and best friend, he probably would have been a bit... relieved? After all, he was thinking that they were having an affair on him- soon to kick him out of the house and leave him in a village that he had only moved there so the he could be with his girlfriend. Of course _Arata_ would accept the offer.

"...I will think over your offer seriously. And, though I will not come to Sakura's execution, I will not meddle with it. It is a matter between Konoha and their shinobi. Even if I do love her, she must face the consequences of her actions." Itachi closed his eyes, though he could feel the self-satisfied smirks worn by the Councilors

"We are very happy to hear that decision, Arata. That is all we wished to discuss with you. You are dismissed." He stood up, bowing, and then quickly leaving the room. Once in the hallway, he smirked. His plan had been accomplished. The Council believed his lies about Sakura and Sasuke's "affair". He was keeping his cover perfectly- there was no way the Council suspected him to be Itachi Uchiha. If they knew his true identity before Sakura's trial, everything would be ruined.

Of course, the Councilors were not fools. They would not simply just believe his agreement to stay away from Sakura. They would surely put an ANBU team to watch him. Just as they would watch Naruto, Sai, Hinata, Ino, Kakashi, Sasuke- all of Rookie Eleven and their senseis. Again, though, that was no matter. A few clones, a few genjutsus, any of that would at least lead the ANBU off their trail temporarily. Once they were hidden, it would be nearly impossible for the ANBU to find them. Itachi was not worried in the least about the ANBU watching them.

But if everything went as smooth as possible, it was possible that the ANBU would be so fooled into watching their illusions that they wouldn't react as quickly to the plan to free Sakura, as they would if they were aware of the missing shinobi. Their team needed all the time they could buy, so Itachi could only hope with everything in him that the ANBU teams would be fooled.

And, even if they weren't fooled, Itachi could hope that the ANBU still wouldn't respond like they were supposed to. He had heard the uproar around the village. Everyone was unhappy. Not even Tsunade could quell the anger. After all, this wasn't a traitor being executed, like Sasuke. This was their pride and joy, Konoha's healing angel, their favorite kunoichi. This was Sakura. This was the sweet, kind-hearted girl whom everyone loved and adored. From the civilians up to the ANBU, she had saved their lives countless times. That emotional attachment was what Itachi was hoping to play to his advantage. If the ANBU members hesitated, which he had heard that they were not looking thrilled to Sakura's execution, then maybe he would gain more time to free her. After all, she had saved their lives so many times that all of them owed her hesitation.

Itachi frowned, looking up at the sky. At this moment in time, everything was coming together. He didn't need this plan to backfire on him, too, much like the last few plans had. The Council had been throwing wrenches in his plans since Neji came to him with the mission to kill the Hyuuga Clan.

But this was the only way, he knew, to fix all their problems. All of it hinged on this execution.

He took a deep breath and knew the only way to release his tension and nerves was to train. Promptly, he headed towards the farthest training ground in Konoha.

* * *

><p>"What do we do?"<p>

"What can we do?"

"We can't lose another one!" The three were all sitting in a circle, frowning harshly.

"You heard what they said- they're traitors!"

"That's impossible! We've _worked_ with them. They love this village."

"They also were good people."

"They told us never to leave our team behind."

"Those that leave their teammates are worse than dirt." To emphasize the point, he picked up a clump of dirt, squishing it between his fingers.

"But we'll get in so much trouble!"

"_Who cares_?" He stood up, looking down at them. "They are the first ones to actually take the time to get to know us. To train us. To help us. We've only been with them a few weeks, but all those hours... I know they cared."

"They aren't traitors. It doesn't make sense."

"What can we do?" Their conversation had come full circle. However, this time, they were all resolved.

"We... I don't know. But we'll be there. And we'll... we'll help her. Maybe we can plead with them. We can try to do something to save her."

"We can't... We can't attack them. ANBU will be there and there is no way to defeat them. We'll just get killed pointlessly."

"I know. I know. But... she's done so much for us. And she's supposed to teach us how to heal when she comes back." There was a desperation in his voice that seemed close to tears.

"She'll be back." They all had the same tone. "She won't leave us, too."

"We'll figure something out. But for sure, we'll be there. We'll stand right in front and show her that we support her. That we don't believe them."

"That's... the least we can do." The three nodded, closing their eyes. They could only do what was in their power. "Given the chance, though..."

"Yeah. We'll save her."

* * *

><p>The day had passed much too slow. Sakura couldn't stand it. She had paced the entire cell. The night had fallen and already, the new day had begun. She had watched the sky brighten.<p>

Her nerves were frayed. This was her execution day. She felt sick, desperate, nervous, scared, nauseous... Everything was coiled into a jarred bundle of nerves clenched tightly in her stomach and up her throat.

Breathing was difficult and she wanted to cry. Her hands shook and her knees wobbled. She had gnawed her lip into a bloody mess, and had begun working on her knuckles (since she didn't bite her fingernails; instead, she chewed on her knuckles in extreme cases).

She had worn herself out pacing. Finally, she forced herself to sit on her bed, her body tense and rigid. Sakura waited, wondering how this would happen. If she failed, if Itachi failed, if this plan failed, she would die. Itachi would die. Sasuke would die. Kakashi and Sai would eventually die. Hinata and Neji and the entire Hyuuga clan would die. So many lives were riding on the success of this plan.

Sakura heard the footsteps long before she saw them. She refused to look up as five ANBU guards opened the cell. As they stood above her, she finally glanced up.

"Sakura-san, it's time." She nodded. They were gentle when they picked her up. Two held her arms, binding them behind her. They walked beside her. Two walked behind her. One more walked in front of her. Sakura closed her eyes and let them lead her.

When she finally opened her eyes, several long minutes later, it was to the outside light. They had made it to the top of the Hokage Monument. Koharu and Homura were standing there, waiting for her. Tsunade was behind them.

She looked out into the crowd, faces blurring beneath her. A loud uproar sounded as soon as they saw Sakura.

Sakura took her spot next to the Councilors They looked at her, unnerved at how accepting of her fate she was.

Sakura took a deep breath, wondering if she could really do this. As she glanced up, she saw a brief flicker across the road. Her eyes met blue ones; she knew they were Itachi's.

Her eyes closed and when she opened them again, a fire burned in her jade orbs. Sakura was ready to uphold her part of the mission. This time, she would not fail.

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><em>Oh man, we're getting close to the end. There isn't too much to really talk about for this chapter.

1. After my note at the top explaining how Sakura and Itachi weren't going to tell the entire truth, and now, Itachi is telling her to reveal everything about the Hyuuga Plan: well, the reason why it wouldn't have worked before was because, like I said, they had no proof. They still don't have any proof. It's literally a desperate attempt to sway the people and to make them more accepting to Itachi breaking Sakura out of her execution. Pretty much, since Sakura is going to be executed, Itachi is trying to play on people's emotions and make them want to believe Sakura. We'll see next chapter how well this plan works, though :)

2. Why did Itachi easily tell Ino everything? Well, she is Sakura's best friend. She's sorta proven her loyalty to Sakura. They didn't really tell anyone else in Rookie Eleven- at least, not about Itachi. The only thing they would have told them would be about the Hyuuga Mission and explain how Tsunade isn't herself. They wouldn't have mentioned anything about the Uchihas at all.

3. The ace in the hole everyone keeps talking about? You'll find out who that is next chapter :)

And yes, everyone is unhappy about Sakura's lack of trial and her execution. There are protests going on. But they aren't exactly sure what to believe so everything is sorta tense and shaky in the village regarding her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Next Chapter:<em>**

**__**_Sakura is given the task to reveal everything about the Hyuuga Clan and Tsunade. She does that and more. Emotions erupt and battles ensue. A face off between the Hyuuga Clan new and old Heads, the Councilors and the Uchiha Brothers, and Tsunade and Sakura. Only one side can be the victor...  
><em>

_**Chapter Twenty-Three: Revelations**_

* * *

><p>Phew, I'm finally done. Now to go finish Chapter 23! Eek! (I'm stuck on one part and I just can't get through it. I've been on the same section for the past week, darn it.) Again, thanks for all the reviews and I'll see you next chapter! ;) <em><br>_


	23. Chapter 23: Revelation

Woot! Another chapter! Nothing to say; read and enjoy ;)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Three:<span>_ Revelation_

* * *

><p>"Sakura Haruno, you are aware of your charges. Because of your treason, you are being executed on May 17th by the Godaime Hokage. Before we begin, do you have any last words?" Sakura turned to face them, nodding. Their eyes narrowed as they saw a spark of fire come to her eyes.<p>

"I do have some final words. I'd like to tell a story." She turned her eyes to the crowd, observing. Immediately she spotted Hiashi and Hanabi Hyuuga. Shikamaru was a little ways behind them, to the side. Next she saw her three genins- Fuuka, Hideyo, and Akihiko. Her eyes focused on them.

"A long, long time ago, there was a very strong shinobi. He was the pride and joy of his family and his village. He loved the village very much. But as he grew up, he realized that something bad was happening in his family. They were divided. He tried very hard to fix the problem, but in the end, he couldn't." Sakura's voice had a beautiful, mesmerizing quality to it. She commanded everyone's attention. "He was ordered to kill his family, and being the very loyal shinobi that he was, he did it. Everyone blamed him and he fled the village, but was still a loyal shinobi to the very end." Koharu and Homura had gone deathly stiff, staring hard at Sakura.

"There is a second part to this story. History repeats itself, after all. Except this second part has names. Has faces. Has people you know and love and trust. I will tell you this story. There is a strong, strong shinobi. He has been kicked to the side by his clan, but after many years, reform is taking place. He is on the way to becoming something beyond what anyone else could have believed. But some people don't like this reform. Notably, those higher than him. And, of course, those that dislike change. Those that dislike losing power. They ordered this man to kill his clan. '_They are evil!' _they said. He was scared, but he agreed." Sakura scanned the faces. Everyone in the audience was attentively listening. "Then they sent another man to clean up. This time, there would be no survivors. They would eradicate all their problems." Sakura shifted her eyes to the two Council members.

"You look ill, Honorable Councilors. But, please, let me finish."

"No. You are done," Koharu told her sharply. Sakura simply smiled.

"You would like me to be finished, wouldn't you?" Her eyes shifted to her genin team. "May I continue?" she asked it to the crowd, though it was directed towards her team. Fuuka took a deep breath and called back,

"Yes! Yes!"

"I shall add more detail, then. This shinobi is Neji Hyuuga. He was ordered to kill his clan. But not by Lady Tsunade. No, no, this evil goes much farther back. Your Honorable Councilors, I do believe you assigned this mission just a few nights ago."

"Dirty... filthy... lies." Sakura raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to respond. Still, there was nothing that they could formulate quick enough to explain the story Sakura had just spoken.

"Of course," Sakura replied. "Of course, because I _am_ just a traitor. A traitor that knows the truth. And you were suspicious that I might do something once the Hyuugas were killed. That's why you put my boyfriend on the mission to kill Neji and Hinata after Neji killed the Hyuuga Clan."

"Why would we benefit from killing off the Hyuuga Clan?" Sakura shook her head.

"I've thought about it a lot. And I finally decided why. You knew it was only a matter of time before you lost control over them. After all, once Hinata took over the clan, you would have lost you last powerful ally in the village. The Council, the Hokage, and the four Noble Clans of Konoha each have special powers in voting and electing officials into powerful positions. The Head of each of the Noble Clans- the Hyuuga, the Uchiha, the Aburame, and the Akimichi- can, in theory, out-vote the Council or the Hokage on certain matters. These three positions- Clan Head, Councilor, and Hokage- were made as a check-and-balance system to keep Konoha from having a dictator. As we've seen from other villages, the Hokage may have too much power and commit atrocities. But with these three groups balancing each other out, it's less likely to cause a dictatorship." The Council were glaring fiercely at Sakura, desperately wishing to shut her up. She knew they wished they had simply killed her without ever asking her what her final words were- but true to her character, she had a _mouthful_ to say before she died. The Council was refraining from restraining her in any way, though, because Sakura had captivated the audience with her story. Even Hiashi and Hanabi were listening closely to her tale. The Council knew that any hostile moves towards Sakura would simply make themselves look bad in the eyes of the public.

"Well, with Hinata taking over the Hyuuga Clan, and eventually giving dual ownership of it to Neji, likely dismissing the Hyuuga Clan elders, you knew you had lost your last strong hold of power within the Clans. Before, it had always been that the Uchiha Clan had gone against you (with them dead, though, you had one less vote to worry about), the Aburame and Akimichi usually leaned more on the Hokage's side, and the Hyuuga always stayed on your side. Thus, the vote would be equally tied on any issue. And when Danzo was still here, he was treated like a Council member and given his own vote. He tended to agree with you, thus allowing you to overtake most of the Hokage decisions." Sakura smiled, shaking her head.

"But that's all changed now. Naruto is becoming Hokage soon, so you knew you would be dismissed. Hinata, his wife, was the Head of one of the Noble Clans. Shino and Chouji, both next in line to be Clan Head, would surely be on his side on most issues. Sasuke, who has returned to the village, would be reinstated as Clan Head soon enough. Naruto's new Council of Shikamaru and Kakashi would also be on his side. And Tsunade, as an honorary voting member, would tend to agree with him. Thus, Naruto would have complete control of the village. You feared this more than anything. You've never liked Naruto. And Naruto's methods are vastly different than yours. You never wanted him as Hokage; you figured that with him as Hokage, the village would become weak and _peaceful_. You want Konoha to be the strongest, to inspire fear into other villages, like it used to." Sakura shook her head, smiling, as she took a breath.

"But, even with those reasons, there is always the question as to why kill off an entire clan? The Hyuugas are valuable- no, _essential_- to our village. They are strong. Their eyes are top of the line, especially since most other dojutsu has been eradicated. We have one Sharingan user left in the entire world. No Rinnegan users. But an entire clan of Byakugan users in our own village. So why kill them off? Well, for one, you foresaw an immediate problem. With Hinata stopping the division between the Main and Lower Branches, you knew that Hyuugas would leave the village in protest. A Hyuuga who leaves is better dead than alive. Their dojutsu is too precious to fall into the hands of the enemy. And, you also feared that the Hyuuga Clan could become so divided that it might lead to a war. It could spread through the village. It could cause a civil war. Other villages would intervene. Konoha would be weakened. After all, wasn't this the same thought process you had with the Uchiha Clan?"

They flinched. They violently recoiled, taking a deep breath. Sakura could see their face go pale. It tightened with anger and fear and hatred, as they glared at her. She had mentioned the taboo subject. The Uchihas.

"But why should anyone believe my stories? I'm simply a traitor ready to be executed. I will confess, I did indeed heal Sasuke's eyes. I broke the terms of his probation. However, it was not done out of anything except desperation. We were going to be killed. I had to save us, somehow. I disconnected them as soon as we got home. None of my crimes were ever done with any ill will towards Konoha. I did everything to protect this village. I love this village. And if you so deem me unfit to heal, to help, and to serve you any longer, than so be it. I will gladly accept my execution." She heard the sighs of relief from the two Councilors behind her. "However, I will not allow the filthy lies and cover-ups that are going on in this village to continue any longer! Look at Tsunade-sama! She is not the same! She wouldn't do this! Have you heard her explain why she is executing me so quickly? Not even the most hardened criminals get this type of punishment so quickly! I was not even given a trial, nor was Sasuke, nor Naruto!"

"That is enough!" Koharu roared at her, finally finding her strength again. "Sakura Haruno, we will not tolerate these fabrications any more. You are trying your hardest to divert from the real issue here- which you already admitted you have committed the crimes you are being tried for. You are a criminal and you are to be made an example to others. We will not allow, even one of our pride and joy shinobi, to break the law."

"You're right," Sakura told them, pulling away from their reach. "I'm not talking about my crimes. I'm talking about yours! I won't be executed by a bunch of hypocrites! You want to kill off the Hyuugas just like you did the Uchihas! I won't allow you to do to Neji what you did to Itachi!" It was the heat of the moment. The words were rushing out without any restraint. Sakura realized with horror what she had said. Itachi hadn't wanted the truth to come out. He hadn't wanted his clan's name to be smeared.

It was too late for that. She would defend the Uchiha Clan with her every breath, even if they weren't particularly in the right. And she would see where this battle of words would lead her.

"You want to speak about the Uchiha Clan? They were filthy traitors planning to rebel against this village!" Homura was the one to speak. Sakura faced them fully, turning her back to the crowd.

"You didn't even try to reason with them! You forced a thirteen year old boy to kill his family! His mother, his father, his aunts and uncles, his friends, his fianceé... You did it to him! And you never even blinked as you gave the order. He gave up everything-" Sakura choked, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "Absolutely everything for you and this village. All for a damn mission and then you went and smeared his name. 'He's a murderer. A killer. Hate him. Despise him. Never be like him.' He was the best shinobi this village ever had and you... you all..." Her legs trembled and she shook her head, unable to wipe the tears because of her bound hands.

"You call him a criminal and you call him a mur-murderer... b-but Itachi... Itachi never even batted an eyelash at what you said. H-he did it all and accepted everything and protected Konoha for all... all of his life. Even after death, he did what he c-could to save this village. He did... he..." It was always a sore subject for her to speak about Itachi's past. And now she was facing the two people that had ordered his mission. Sakura couldn't take it.

"You are the most despicable people on the face of the earth. I don't care that I might die. I don't care. But you... what you did to Itachi was... w-was..." She shook her head, keeping her lips together, as she turned to face the crowd. "...I'm finished. Do what you must."

There was a murmur from the crowd. It was steadily growing louder, and even as Tsunade took her spot behind Sakura, it would not die down. The Councilors tried to shush the crowd but it was futile. There were angry protests, shouts of disbelief, demands to hear the truth of this Hyuuga and Uchiha Clan conspiracy. Even Hanabi and Hiashi seemed to be disgruntled by the entire story Sakura had revealed.

But the ones throwing the loudest fuss were Sakura's genin team. Fuuka, Hideyo, and Akihiko were literally screaming their protests.

"She's saved all of your lives!"

"You all trusted her for years; believed every word she's ever said! Now you all just turn your backs on her?"

"You won't even give her a fair trial? Let her plead her case! Let her prove what she's saying! There has to be proof somewhere!"

"She's never done anything to harm us! Protect her like she's always protected you!" They were fighting off guards, screaming through tears. Their protests were getting the attention of many members of the crowd, who were joining in to voice their own disagreements with Sakura's execution.

Sakura watched carefully, holding her breath for her genin. She never realized how much she loved her team until this moment; their words made her want to cry even more.

"Stop those children! For goodness sakes," Koharu muttered, looking back at Sakura. "Look at what you've caused."

"You haven't even seen the half of it," Sakura murmured, still watching her genin. She would intervene on their behalf if she thought they were going to be injured. She would protect them with every part of her body.

"Tsunade! Get on with it!" Homura finally demanded, gesturing for the Hokage to execute Sakura.

"Sakura Haruno, on the 17th of May, you are being executed for treasonous actions against the village. May you rest in peace," Tsunade spoke dully. Her hand glowed with blue medical chakra as she activated her Chakra Scalpel.

Sakura couldn't deny how her heart jumped into her throat. She opened her mouth to plead with Tsunade, scared that maybe, just maybe, something had happened to Itachi. That maybe he wasn't going to save her.

"Tsunade-sama you can't kill me! I'm p-" And then, there they were. True to their noted Uchiha speed, they were there, in front of her. Sasuke had restrained the Council, and Itachi was at her side, blocking Tsunade's blow.

Sakura broke her bindings, activating her Yin Seals. Chakra flooded her system, and she whirled around to the crowd, amazed at what she saw. There was Shikamaru protecting her genin, while ushering civilians away from the fighting. Hanabi and Hiashi were standing back, unsure of what side to join. ANBU were flooding the area, as were other jounin and chuunin, to protect the Hokage and the Councilors

Kakashi and Sai were the next two to burst into the scene. A flurry of activity was going on around her as they attacked ANBU members who were trying to detain them. Neji and Hinata came running down the mountain, an entire squad of ANBU following them.

As a per usual of him, Naruto came in at the very last second to jump in and save someone. This time, it was his wife, Hinata; he grabbed her, whirling her away from a water jutsu coming from the ANBU behind her. Following Naruto was a shock- it was the Kazekage, Gaara.

He was using his sand jutsus to clear pathways for civilians and block incoming shinobi. The massive amounts of sand was blinding the Konoha shinobi, stalling for time. Gaara was effectively able to clear out the people from the center, sending them to safer zones in the village.

ANBU, jounin, and chuunin began to press into the group, blocking them back at the Hokage Mountain summit. Sakura was almost overwhelmed by all the fighting, especially since she recognized all the faces that were her enemies. She had saved many of those men with her own two hands.

"Sakura, heal my eyes!" Sasuke called, dropping in front of her. "I need my Sharingan!" His eyes were a hazard. She needed hours to do the delicate and precise procedure. She had less than two minutes. Sakura took a deep breath and placed her hands on his eyes, moving her chakra as carefully and accurately as she could. She reattached the nerve endings, sealing and re-sealing the lines as quickly, but nicely, as possible. Itachi and Naruto guarded the two as Sakura worked.

It took a few minutes, but she withdrew her hands. "Don't use your Amaterasu or Susanoo. Keep it basic. Too much chakra will, literally, destroy your eyes, understand?" He nodded.

"Sakura, Sasuke! Let's go!" Sakura turned to Itachi's voice, and was shocked to see his appearance. He had taken out his contacts, so his Mangekyou Sharingan blazed clearly in the light. He had also switched his hairstyle back to his original low ponytail. Despite the fact that he no longer had his deep tear troughs, there was no denying the fact that the man in front of them was Itachi Uchiha. Sakura could only figure he was doing this to spook the Council. It appeared to be working.

"Kazekage, why are you here?" Koharu demanded, regaining her voice and trying to process the situation. She was ghostly pale as she avoided eye contact with Itachi.

"I'm not the Kazekage today," Gaara told her. "I'm simply Gaara coming to aid a friend. I was alerted that there were some funny going-ons in this village. Sakura is a strong ally to Suna and we were not alerted to her treason nor her execution. That is a blatant offense to our village, especially after all the treasured work Sakura did for our hospitals. So instead of making this a diplomatic crisis that could endanger our alliance, I decided to come here personally and see to it that Sakura is given a fair trial." Sakura grinned. She knew that there was a reason why she had loved that man.

"Hiashi Hyuuga, are you simply going to stand there? As a shinobi of Konoha, you are to attack those who harm the Hokage!" Homura roared. Hiashi looked up, looking torn as he eyed his eldest daughter. Sighing softly, he gripped Hanabi's shoulder, nodding. He joined the fray, targeting Neji and Hinata.

Team Seven, Gaara, and Itachi, on the other hand, faced off against the Councilors and Tsunade. As Sakura scanned the crowd, she was shocked to see all the civilians gone, and to see most of Rookie Eleven and their senseis holding off the attacking shinobi. As she scanned further, she could see Ino on top of the hospital roof, healing. Temari and Kankuro were also there, fighting off shinobi. Many of the jounin and chuunin Sakura had become close to, or who were close to Rookie Eleven, were also holding off shinobi. Kotetsu, Izumo, Iruka, Genma, Anko, Ibiki, Inoichi, Shikaku, Chouza, Kiba's older sister and mother, even Shino's father were there, surrounding the area. They were all fighting for her.

There were only two battles going on at the Hokage Mountain summit, then. Hinata and Neji versus Hiashi and Hanabi; and Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Gaara, and Itachi versus Koharu, Homura, and Tsunade.

"Where is Shizune?" Sakura asked Tsunade. Tsunade looked at her blankly, eyes glazed over. "Had to get rid of her so you could control Tsunade-sama, hmm?" Sakura directed her questions towards Koharu and Homura. "You know you can't win." Koharu smirked, shaking her head.

"What have you done, Sakura Haruno? All those jutsus we heard about- Tsunade was so tight-lipped about you that no matter how hard we pried, she would not reveal it. Now I understand. You revived Itachi. That was what all the illegal jutsus, documents, and Yin Seals were for."

"...Yes. Yes, I did revive him. That's why all your plans failed. Because Neji knew the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre and came to us. That's why you signed your death warrant when you assigned Itachi the same mission again. To kill another clan. Enough is enough."

"Itachi," Homura looked at him, "it has been a long time. I will admit that I am pleased to see you getting the chance to live your life the way you deserved."

"Thank you," Itachi responded, shaking his head, smirking. "I'm glad I got this second chance, too. This time I will not make the same mistakes of my past. I will not let another tragedy rip apart this village like what I caused. And this time, I will fix the lasting problems of my mission. It is time to clean up again." He slid his eyes to Sasuke. "Brother, we will fight the Councilors It is only right." Sasuke grinned, nodding.

"Then the rest of us will take on Tsunade-sama," Sakura declared, looking at her mentor. "Remember, guys, she's under a genjutsu of some sort. We can't harm her too much!" They nodded.

Words were finished. The two groups split apart and attacked.

* * *

><p>"Neji... Was Sakura speaking the truth?" Hiashi asked his nephew. Neji nodded.<p>

"Yes. But I would have never done the mission... I..." Hiashi took a deep breath, nodding.

"I know you wouldn't have. Both of you, I'm proud. What you're doing for the Clan... it is good." Hinata and Neji smiled. "However, as a loyal Konoha shinobi, I cannot allow you to assist a traitor. ...Even if I don't believe Sakura deserves execution. But, I will always serve my village loyally."

"Just as we will always serve our convictions," Hinata responded, smiling softly. "Naruto taught us both to follow our hearts. And we believe in him. This isn't so much about saving Sakura as it is to fight for our future. We will change the future. If we must fight against you, Father, then so be it. Neji-nii-san, let's do this."

"I apologize for this, Hiashi-sama, but I will protect our dreams with my life."

"As you should, Neji. Hanabi," Hiashi slid his eyes to his youngest daughter, "what side will you join?" She had stayed silent, but closing her eyes, she made her decision.

"Father's side. My priority is always the village. Anyways, I've always been stronger than Hinata." She opened her eyes, smirking. "Let us see who really deserves to be Clan Head!" They lowered into the Hyuuga stance, activating their Byakugans.

Hiashi charged first, attacking Neji. He dodged his uncle's blows, whirling around and landing a perfect Palm Heel Strike in Hiashi's side. Hanabi came to her father's aid, throwing a kick at the side of Neji's head. Hinata, though, came up to block Hanabi's kick with her own Gentle Fist blow.

With another kick, Hinata sent Hanabi spiraling to the ground. Hanabi, though, rebounded, bouncing back up to her feet. She charged at her sister, fiercely attacking with her Eight Trigrams Palm Attack. Hinata counterattacked with her Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms , whirling around and defending each blow. Neji took this time to fight with Hiashi. It was clear that Neji was stronger than Hiashi, considering that Neji could easily dodge all of Hiashi's blows.

All four of them knew how the other fought. Hanabi and Hinata had been training together since they could stand, while Hiashi had trained Neji since Hizashi's death. However, Neji had the advantage over all three since he had not trained with any of them (except occasionally Hinata) since joining ANBU. Even more so, he had been training with Itachi on a regular basis. Neji knew he had made many improvements- his speed, his reaction time, his jutsu speed, even his dodging ability- because of his sparring with Itachi. After all, the Uchiha heir was trained specifically to combat Hyuugas. Thus, Neji now had learned some of those techniques to fight against his clan.

He whirled his uncle around, flinging him to the side of the mountain. He took this brief moment to land a hit on Hanabi, kicking her away from Hinata. Hinata nodded her head in thanks to her cousin, lowering herself back into a defensive position. Hanabi and Hiashi were back on their feet in no time, attacking Hinata and Neji again.

To any outsider, it would have looked like a graceful dance of some sort. All four Hyuugas moved fluidly, dodging outstretched hands, avoiding the blue glow of chakra, and spinning around from pointed fingers trying to close off chakra points. The only Hyuuga able to land any hits was, predictably, Neji. His palms were ferocious and the few times he was able to do a Trigram attack, he would do over one hundred hits. Neither Hiashi nor Hanabi was spared his attacks.

All in all, Neji and Hinata made a rather strong team. Neji was much stronger than Hinata offensively, but Hinata had the stronger defensive tactics. The rare times that Hiashi or Hanabi had managed to break through their defenses, and was sure to land a hit, Hinata was able to defend them with her protective hands. It was a frustrating match for Hanabi and Hiashi, for sure. They were continually taking damage and it seemed as if their opponents were remaining unharmed.

It was long and tedious for both parties. With a final push from Hiashi, he managed to break Hinata's defenses and land a solid hit on his daughter- correctly identified as the "weaker" member of the team. Hinata coughed, spitting up blood. Still, she wiped her mouth, and stood up straight, refusing to back down.

All three of them were amazed, knowing that Hiashi had hit her lungs with enough force to practically crush them. Her legs wobbled with pain, and her vision blackened a few times, but all in all, Hinata remained steadfast and standing.

"It's obvious that you're the weakest out of all of us, sister," Hanabi mocked, rubbing her own blood away from her mouth. "And yet you're supposed to be the Head of the Hyuuga Clan? You can't even hold your own!" Hinata smiled, shaking her head softly at her younger sister.

"You've always desired this position," she began softly, taking a gasping breath as she spoke. "You've always been strong, I do not deny that. But there is more to being a Clan Head than just physical strength. Hanabi, the reason I deserve to be Clan Head over you is-," Hinata lurched, using the temporary distraction to land a hit squarely in Hanabi's chest. It sent her sister flying to her back. Hinata stood over her, looking down, "-is because I know how to lead the clan in a way that is for the best. You will do the same things that everyone else has. You will keep our clan stuck in the past, and when things are changing so rapidly, we cannot afford to be left behind. I will bring about the change that our clan is sorely needing." Hanabi looked up at her sister, swallowing hard. She finally closed her eyes, accepting what Hinata had spoken.

She could finally see the difference in their strengths- not physical strength, but strength in character.

* * *

><p>Really, there was no way that Homura and Koharu could defeat the Uchiha brothers. They knew that, Sasuke and Itachi knew that- fighting was simply a formality of sorts. A way for the Uchihas to enact their revenge. They were in their eighties- sure, they were good shinobi even for their age, but any physically fit jounin, or even a strong chuunin, could defeat the two.<p>

Considering the fact that Itachi and Sasuke were two of the strongest shinobi in the world at the moment- well, again, there was no way the Councilors would even put up a fight compared to the two men. They were in their prime. The same could not be said about the other two.

The two brothers could have ended it with a single strike. Instead, they were dancing around, creating illusions of themselves, toying with the Councilors with genjutsus and lightly scraping them. Since Sasuke couldn't use his Mangekyou, he was tending to throw shuriken awfully close to the two members, making them flinch. Itachi, on the other hand, was having a very amusing time casting the Tsukuyomi on the two. He was making them live and re-live the entire Uchiha Massacre. He was making them feel everything he had felt, everything Sasuke had felt, everything his clan had felt.

After the Tsukuyomi ended, Koharu and Homura fell to one leg, looking up at the menacing brothers. They were panting, sweat dripping down their bodies.

"Are you going to continue torturing us? Going to keep casting these jutsus on us until we break?" Itachi knelt down in front of them, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I am face-to-face with the two people who ordered the destruction of my clan. For so many years, I did not think about you. I thought of what _I _did, of what I caused Sasuke. I lived with that, never placing any blame. It was my choice, my hand." He shook his head, maintaining eye-contact. "To this day, I do not place full responsibility on you. It was still my choice, my hand. I do blame you for taking such drastic measures, for not trying harder, for using my clan as nothing more than pawns in your game. In an almost naive fashion, I had hoped that you may have regretted your actions. That they were a mistake." His mouth curved up in a bitter smirk.

"And then you gave Neji the same mission. I understood then, especially after you gave me my mission, as you tried to cover up all your loose ends, that you never cared what you did to my clan. What you did to my brother. And, as Sakura reminds me so often, what you did to me." He reached out, watching as they flinched back from his hand. He clenched his fist, his eyes closing.

"...I do not wish to kill you. That is not my desire. I... don't have that right. I was a part of that plan, I knew the consequences. The one who has the right to kill you is Sasuke." Itachi took a deep breath, turning away. "I am finished with you and what you've done. You are defeated." He began to walk away, heading towards the battle with Tsunade.

Sasuke looked at him, then back at the Council. He was definitely debating about what he wished to do. Finally, he decided. Grinning, he withdrew his sword. His eyes gleamed, shining a brighter crimson that usual, as he looked down on the two people who had caused his clan's destruction- who caused _his_ destruction.

"You took away my family. You took away my friends. You took away my brother. You took away my childhood. You took away everything I loved. It was you! _You!_" Sasuke held his sword up, letting it shine in the sunlight. "I'll take everything away from you as well!" He brought the sword down, grinning as the Councilors closed their eyes in acceptance of their death.

* * *

><p>Tsunade was one of the most powerful Kages that had ever lived. She was ridiculously strong, with her fists that caused craters and her extensive knowledge about the human body. She could destroy a nerve or muscle that could handicap a person for the rest of their life.<p>

But the most important part of Tsunade, the part that made her one of the best, was her ability to regenerate her body. In a sense, she could never die in battle. Eventually, she would have to win if only because she could outlast her opponent.

That was why there were five of them fighting Tsunade. Naruto had the stamina and endurance to take Tsunade on. Gaara had the defensive ability to block most of her devastating punches and kicks. Kakashi had the intelligence and Sharingan to predict her movements and plan accordingly. Sai was agile enough and had enough jutsu to rescue and distract. And Sakura knew her mentor's fighting style and could match Tsunade punch-for-punch. She was also able to heal and regenerate her own body, thus giving her as much endurance as her mentor.

Technically speaking, they should win. They were some of the strongest shinobis in existence fighting only one other super strong shinobi. But, there was one unpredictable factor- one variable that could change the outcome. It was the genjutsu, or what ever type of mind-control jutsu the Council had used on Tsunade, that was going to make her fight at full strength. The five of them would be holding back, scared to kill the Hokage. Tsunade, though, would have no such reservations. While before, when Sakura had saw Tsunade in her office, she had seemed normal. Able to talk and communicate as if nothing was wrong. But the Council must have strengthened their hold on Tsunade this day, making sure to lock away her emotions and keeping complete control over her. As if she were nothing more than a puppet.

"We need a strategy," Kakashi told them. "Naruto, Sai, and Sakura, I want you three on the front lines with me. Sakura, you need to stay behind us three, though, because you must be kept in the height of health to heal us. Gaara, you should remain behind us and attack with your sand. Almost form a shield around all of us. Even holding her down would be wonderful."

"Understood," Gaara responded, nodding.

"Just remember, guys, that Tsunade-sama knows all of our fighting techniques. She can predict most of our moves. And most importantly, dodge her fists. Actually, dodge all of her limbs. She can easily put chakra into any part of her body that will send you flying. And her hands can paralyze you, too. Just be careful!" Sakura told them. As they were getting ready to leap off, she snapped her fingers, halting them.

"Hang on a second. I developed a new jutsu that not even Tsunade-sama has mastered. Let me place a chakra tag on you; this way, I can heal you at long distances." It was a rather simple process- all Sakura had to do was place a small chakra seal on each person. It glowed a bright green in the morning light. "Perfect! Now, let's do this!"

Naruto took off. He dashed at Tsunade, who was watching them blankly. Naruto tried to deliver a hit, but Tsunade was faster, grabbing his wrist and flinging him into Sai. Naruto groaned, rubbing his now broken wrist. Immediately, he felt relief. Looking down, the green seal placed on his arm was glowing, as green medical chakra surrounded his wrist, mending the bones back together.

Twisting his wrist, he gave Sakura a thumbs up. She nodded, smiling back. Now, focusing back on Tsunade, who was glaring at all of them, Naruto fell into line with Kakashi and Sai. Kakashi had raised his headband, watching Tsunade with his Sharingan.

Tsunade didn't wait for them to attack. She made the first move, coming down with a fist. Her target was Sai. Sai went to spin out of the way, but Gaara was faster. His sand had gripped Tsunade's arm, wrenching it back.

It didn't stop Tsunade. She drew chakra into her other fist and shattered the sand, spewing it all over the ground. Her speed was amazing as she promptly whirled around and continued with her attack. Her fist nailed Sai in the cheek, sending the stunned man flying. Sakura swallowed hard, knowing that Sai was assuredly knocked out with the force of that hit.

She made a move to go to his side (knowing she couldn't concentrate long enough to heal him at a distance), but Tsunade had expected it. Sakura was cut off by her mentor, who charged at her. Sakura dodged a kick and ducked underneath a punch. Tsunade, though, was faster than Sakura imagined (even with all her speed training with Itachi, Tsunade still had a bit of an edge on her). Gaara, though, was prepared and whisked Sakura back with his sand.

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she realized how close Tsunade had been from taking her head off with a chakra scalpel. Strands of her hair fluttered to the ground; it was that close. The sand gently placed her back on her feet, while Naruto and Kakashi took their turn with trying to distract Tsunade.

Sakura decided to take this time to heal Sai. She took off running towards him, but once again, Tsunade was more aware of her surroundings than Sakura expected. Just as she was at Sai's side, Tsunade had nailed her in her ribs with a knee. Sakura flew into the ground, curling up, gripping her sides. All the ribs on her left side were broken.

Painstakingly, she began to heal them. However, Sakura realized that Tsunade was not done with her yet. The woman was already charging towards her; Sakura gave her ribs a burst of chakra and jumped up, dodging Tsunade's incoming fist. She didn't even have enough time to look around and figure out what had happened to Gaara, Kakashi, and Naruto. She focused solely on dodging Tsunade's blows.

Finally, Sakura managed to retaliate and land a hit of her own. She bashed Tsunade in the chest with her palm, and was sorely disappointed to watch the woman disappear into a cloud of smoke. Tsunade had made clones of herself that were now fighting each one of them.

This was not going to be an easy battle. Naruto had already went into his Kyuubi mode, and was dodging the onslaught of Tsunades (he had three clones to deal with), while Kakashi and Gaara had their own Tsunade clone to deal with. Sakura decided that it would be wisest to try and help Naruto with his three clones.

Unfortunately, her plan was foiled when another Tsunade clone appeared beside her to fight her. Sakura was punched in the side, and then kicked up into the air. She was able to twist out of the way of Tsunade's next blow, and able to land on all fours. Sakura's head was reeling as she dashed out of the way to dodge the heel-drop Tsunade was coming down with. The ground splintered, and Sakura had to do her best to dodge the now shaky floor.

The fight was quickly going downhill for all of them. Tsunade was steadily increasing her attacks, and with each of them separated, they didn't have the team advantage that they had planned in the beginning.

All of them were strong individually. Typically speaking, Gaara, Kakashi, and Naruto would have all been able to handle themselves against a Kage. However, Tsunade was no regular Kage. And she seemed to be stronger under this genjutsu-control that the Council had placed on her. It was like she had no restraints on her body. Tsunade had always been one of the strongest, if not _the_ strongest Kage, out of the five villages.

The fight was long and tiring. But, one by one, Tsunade had outwitted them. The second person to go down after Sai was Kakashi. She had caught the man with her chakra scalpel. It was one hit to his leg, one simple cut, but it was strong enough to rip a tendon in his leg. Kakashi went down, bracing himself. He tried to throw her into a genjutsu with his Sharingan, but Tsunade avoided his eyes. She kicked him away, and once he hit the ground, he joined Sai in unconsciousness.

The next shinobi to be knocked out was Gaara, surprisingly. However, it was not due to him, but because of Sakura. She had been fighting with Tsunade, trying desperately to fight her off. Gaara had destroyed his Tsunade clone and had turned around just as Sakura was ready to be punched. She had twisted out of the way, but could see another impending fist spiraling her way. Gaara was the one to save her. He grabbed her, pulling her to his chest, diving away from Tsunade's fist. But it was a sacrifice- just as Gaara let her go, Tsunade came down with a heel. Gaara pulled his sand to deflect the blow, but Tsunade's power was too much. Gaara had one major flaw- once his sand defenses were broken, he was pathetically weak in hand-to-hand combat. Tsunade broke through the sand barrier and continued downwards. Her heel hit his spine, knocking him out (which was lucky, considering that Tsunade's move would usually kill a person. Gaara's sand had taken most of the chakra out of the blow, so it simply caused enough pain to knock him out, not damage him permanently). Sakura scrambled up, returning to the fight.

It was down to Sakura and Naruto. They had managed to team up and to destroy all of Tsunade's clones. Naruto was trying his best to throw Tsunade down, using every jutsu he knew to try and push her away, but nothing was really working. His power was draining quickly, and both of them knew that as soon as he lost his Kyuubi form, he would be a goner.

Sakura was still bewildered at how she had managed to stay conscious. She finally figured that since Tsunade trained her, she had learned how to predict her mentor's movements. It was easy to predict what Tsunade was going to do. Besides that, she was able to heal herself quickly enough that after each hit, she could revive herself to keep fighting.

Naruto landed a solid hit on Tsunade, sending the Hokage to her back. Sakura rushed forward, bringing both hands down, almost like a hammer. She _had_ to hit Tsunade and knock her out before Naruto lost his powers.

Too late! Tsunade had rolled out of the way, causing Sakura to create a giant crater in the mountain. Tsunade jumped to her feet, and kicked Sakura away, to which she broke her own fall, skidding on her hands. Naruto came in for an attack, but Tsunade whirled around, kicking him away.

He rubbed his broken jaw, to which Sakura immediately healed him through the chakra seal, and both fell back into a defensive position. They watched Tsunade carefully, unsure as to when she would attack.

She moved and came after Naruto. Thanks to his heightened speed, he was able to dodge the blow. But Tsunade had expected that, and had merely used her attack as a way to distract Naruto. Immediately, she spun around, back-handing Sakura. Sakura groaned, falling to the ground, trying to stay conscious. Tsunade stood above her, drawing her leg up to kick her and finish the job. Sakura waited, closing her eyes as she braced herself.

But the kick never came. Instead, she heard a low groan, and as she forced herself to look up, she saw Naruto's limp form a few feet away from her. Tsunade, too, had been thrown back and was currently down. Sakura pressed a hand to her bleeding temple, trying to heal herself enough to gain her footing back. She tried to process everything that had happened.

As she managed to stumble to her feet and slowly, shakily walking over to Naruto, she finally pieced together what had occurred. Naruto had jumped in to take the blow for Sakura, but it looked like he had given Tsunade a Rasengan to the chest before he was knocked out. Once again, someone had taken the blow for her in this fight.

Sakura leaned down, knowing she didn't even have minutes to heal Naruto. He was bleeding internally, she realized as she pressed her hands to his stomach. He had also suffered a head wound from hitting the ground.

Chakra was already to her hands, healing him, when Tsunade stood up. Sakura had to stop, and she turned around, wincing as she saw the state her mentor was in. Tsunade had a gaping hole in her body from where Naruto's Rasengan had gone through. Already, though, Tsunade's Rebirth Technique was healing her. Only blood remained to illustrate where her wounds had been.

As long as she didn't activate her Byakugo, Sakura knew she would have a fighting chance. Because, as she scanned around the battlefield, it was apparently down to her to fight Tsunade. Sasuke and Itachi were still dealing with the Council; Hinata, Neji, Hanabi, and Hiashi were still fighting, and the rest of their teammates were still holding back jounin and ANBU from interfering.

Sakura took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. It was time to prove her worth to her mentor and teacher. She would win this fight- it was time for the pupil to surpass the master. She could do this. She _had_ to do this.

"I won't hold back, Tsunade-sama! This is it!" And Sakura lept at her, her fists full of chakra.

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><p>Ino frowned, healing Lee. They were successfully holding back the jounin and ANBU. Most of the shinobi weren't even fighting at full capacity, and many seemed content to accept the shinobi's explanations as to what was happening. The ANBU and jounin, though their jobs were to protect the Council and Hokage, were restraining themselves. They knew, much like everyone else, that something fishy was going on in the village. They were willing to let Sakura and Naruto try and fix the problems.<p>

So, by this point, it had become mostly a standstill. As long as the Rookie Eleven and their allies didn't try to interfere with the battles still raging on the Hokage Monument, then the ANBU, jounin, and chuunin didn't try to stop them.

It was the best they could do, really. At least this way there would be no casualties. Ino didn't like that she couldn't be there, helping Sakura (especially when fighting Tsunade), but she figured she had to trust her best friend. Sakura could take care of herself and her friends.

"What do you think will happen, Ino-san?" Lee asked her quietly. Ino, having a relatively good view of the battles from the roof of the hospital, shook her head.

"Who knows? Tsunade-sama is so strong. All of them have their hands full." Lee nodded, frowning. "But Sakura is there fighting. I believe in her. I mean, she was the only one Tsunade trained."

"Of course. I believe in her, too." Ino patted his leg, gesturing for him to stand. Lee stood, affirming that he was in good health now. "I'll go watch my area. Thank you for healing me."

"No problem. Good luck and don't get hurt!" He gave her his characteristic shiny smile and thumbs up.

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><p>Hanabi swung herself back up, determined to continue fighting. Hiashi gripped his daughter's shoulder, holding her back. Hinata had fallen into a defensive position, though all of them noted her heavy breathing, and they couldn't miss the blood streaming down her chin from her mouth.<p>

"It is enough, Hanabi," Hiashi whispered lightly. "I do not want you to do this anymore." Hanabi stiffened, looking up at her father.

"Why? We're not defeated yet! We can beat Hinata and then it'll be two against one!" Hiashi closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"This is exactly why. You are not enemies with your sister. She is not someone to try and kill." Hanabi shook her father's hand off of her shoulder, sneering.

"She's betraying the village, Father!" Hiashi shook his head again, but could not say anything as Hanabi charged at Hinata. Neji moved to counter attack, but surprising everyone, Hinata was able to block Hanabi's move. She kicked her sister away, drawing chakra to her hands.

"Enough, little sister. I am tired of being in your shadow. No more." As Hanabi struggled to her feet, Hinata came at her. It was a simple hit with her palm. Hanabi gripped her chest, her eyes widening. "I am the Clan Head and I will have the respect I deserve." Hanabi gasped, her mouth filling with blood. She coughed, gripping her chest. With one more hit to the back of the neck, Hanabi was sent sprawling to the ground. She was unconscious before she even hit the floor.

Hinata took a few steps back, going back into a defensive position, watching her father carefully through her Byakugan. Neji and Hiashi both noted Hinata's ragged breathing and unsteady posture. They watched her take one more gasping breath, impressed with her endurance. It had to be sheer will power still holding her up.

Neji was there to catch her when she finally fainted. He knew she needed medical attention, but he could not do anything until Hiashi was finally defeated.

Turning to his uncle, he lowered himself into his own fighting position.

"No holding back, Uncle. I will defeat you not only for Hinata, but to show you that I am most deserving of the position of Hyuuga Clan Head. That I'm not just a Branch Member." Hiashi nodded once, facing off with Neji. This time, it was going to be all out.

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><p>Sakura back flipped, avoiding Tsunade's kick. She spun around, landing her own kick squarely in her mentor's side. Tsunade drew back her fists, aiming for Sakura's head. But Sakura avoided the punches, landing on all fours.<p>

She threw herself out of the way of another heel drop from Tsunade. Sakura kicked upwards, landing a hit on Tsunade. She kicked her mentor backwards, frowning when Tsunade simply picked herself off of the ground.

They had been going at it for what seemed like forever. Sakura could dodge most of Tsunade's attacks, and while she could land a few hits on Tsunade, it didn't seem nearly as powerful as Tsunade's hits. Still, she was giving it her all.

Tsunade landed another hit on her, directly in the face. Sakura winced, immediately healing her broken nose. Tears flooded her eyes from the pain and blood gushed down the lower half of her face. Angry, she threw her own chakra punch at Tsunade, hitting her in the shoulder. Delighted, she felt Tsunade's shoulder shatter under her fist.

But that didn't make Tsunade's arm useless. Instead, Tsunade simply healed the bone, and stood back, waiting for Sakura to make another move. Sakura lept towards her, and Tsunade grabbed her arms, swinging her around. She tossed her away.

Sakura slid across the ground. She groaned, knowing she had landed wrong. Her arm was broken. Again, Sakura had to concentrate to heal the bone. This time, though, Tsunade was not willing to wait. She charged at Sakura, diving down at her with a fist.

Sakura saw her coming and came up at the same time. Knowing there was no way to avoid her attack, Sakura drew as much chakra that she had left in her body into her own fist. She and Tsunade hit each other at the same time. Both women were blasted backwards.

Tsunade was knocked unconscious, thankfully. Sakura knew it wouldn't be for long, but it was better than nothing. She had managed a perfect hit on Tsunade's temple. She was sure that had she hit any other person, it would have killed them. However, Tsunade had drawn chakra up to her head right at the moment Sakura's fist made contact, thus protecting her from most of the damage.

Sakura, though, was not so lucky. Groaning, she looked down at herself, feeling pain rushing down her body. Tsunade had hit her in the lower stomach; a thought that sent fear flooding up her spine.

With a trembling hand, Sakura reached down. She was fighting off unconsciousness; the pain was sending black spots into her vision. When she pulled her hand back from between her legs (where the most pain was; it felt like blood was pouring out of her) she saw that her hand was indeed covered in the sticky substance. Sakura glanced down, seeing the blood practically gushing out of her body at an alarming rate. It was already down both of her inner thighs, creating a puddle around her.

Sakura forced herself up, swallowing down the vomit. There was so much blood. She knew where it was coming from- knew what had happened. She knew the consequences of fighting in her condition. She had prayed it wouldn't have happened. But it had.

Sakura took one trembling hand, pressing it to her lower abdomen. She already knew- could feel it. But it was just a last resort- a last hope. Sure enough, she couldn't feel a thing. The life that had been growing inside of her for the past month was gone, extinguished from the face of the world.

Tears began to fall. Sakura looked up, seeing Tsunade stand on her feet, coming towards her. She couldn't do this. She couldn't fight Tsunade like this. She needed more time to heal the damage.

"Itachi! Sasuke! Please!" Sakura called desperately, placing a hand on her womb. She was trying to heal her torn insides. Tsunade's punch had practically ripped her apart. The pain was flooding her every nerve. She would bleed out before long. "Itachi! Sasuke! I need you!"

The worst pain, though, wasn't physical. It was mental. It was knowing that she had lost her baby. That was why Tsunade had stopped her training so suddenly, why Sakura had been so tired, why she wanted to take things easy. She knew going into this fight what she was risking- was it worth it? She had lost her baby.

No, it wasn't worth it. She had never wanted to take a life- especially not her child's. And then... and then...

What in the world was she supposed to tell Itachi? Itachi didn't even know she was pregnant. She hadn't wanted to tell him before the battle. He would have forced her not to fight. She should have told him. She shouldn't have fought.

The blood wasn't stopping. Tsunade was coming closer. Her pain wasn't fading and her tears were still falling. She couldn't concentrate enough to do the Rebirth jutsu. She didn't want to fight anymore. She just wanted to lay down and die.

It was Itachi who made it to her side first. He blocked the incoming kick from Tsunade, throwing her back. Sakura didn't even want to look at him; she was so ashamed. Her fingers trailed in the blood, and gingerly, she rubbed it between her index and thumb. Her other hand continued to heal, mending the ripped tissue and placing organs back into the correct places. There were so many internal tears to heal, so much internal bleeding to stop. The blood from her womb still wasn't stopping, but at least it was slowing down. She felt faint.

And then Sasuke was there, trying to help her. He couldn't heal very well at all, but he was trying. She guided his hands to her stomach, letting him try and heal the shallow wounds. He could only watch her with his Sharingan and try to mimic her technique- it was a help, but she was still doing most of her own healing.

"Why is there so much blood, Sakura? Is there usually this much blood?" She shook her head mutely, not bothering to wipe her tears. "Sakura?" Even Itachi stopped long enough to look at her. As she made eye contact with her boyfriend, the father of her now dead child, she began to sob uncontrollably.

"I was... I was pregnant!" That was all she had to say for them to realize what all the blood was surrounding her. They knew without her saying it.

She had lost the baby.

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><p><strong><em>XxX<em>**

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><p>Mmm... Kinda a grim note to end this chapter on. I actually had a long conversation with my brother about doing that- killing off Sakura's child- and he was sorta surprised that I would do something like that, especially in that way. At first, he was like," Dead? No reviving?" And I shook my head no. And once more, another cliff hanger. I think the past four chapters have been nothing but cliffhangers. I promise the next chapter won't end in a cliffhanger.<p>

Anyways! Lotsa stuff I wanted to say about this chapter. Let's see if I can remember it all.

1. Sakura revealing the Uchiha Massacre: Well, if you remember, Itachi never ever ever wanted this to come to light. Sakura just sorta spoke a little too much in the heat of the moment. Remember, she is a bundle of nerves about her execution and her pregnancy- that leads her to be over emotional and a bit too chatty.

2. How did Gaara make it to Konoha in so short of time? Well, technically speaking, it's supposed to take about 3 days to make it from Konoha to Suna. Sakura did have a three day execution window, but I also think that with Gaara's control of the sands, he can probably fly across the desert in less time than that. And everyone guessed the correct ace! It was, indeed, Gaara lol

3. And then the big one. Sakura's pregnancy. If you do look back for the past few chapters, there were tiny hints about it. This is the reason that Tsunade stopped the training so suddenly (if you look carefully, she stops the training right after she heals Sakura), and last chapter, Sakura rests her hand on her stomach and speaks in the plural whenever she talks to herself: "We will go back to being happy..." she's talking straight to her child. And at the beginning of this chapter, when Tsunade is going to execute Sakura, she exclaims, "No, I'm p-" which is, of course, "I'm pregnant!" The only people that knew of Sakura's pregnancy beforehand was Tsunade and Sakura. Itachi's reaction to this news will be explored heavily in the next chapter :)

That's only three things, and I was sure there was more. I think I wanted to talk about Sakura's entire revelation to the village, but I honestly can't remember what lol Oh well. As always, any questions, be sure to ask! I'll do my best to reply in a somewhat timely manner :x

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter:<br>_****_  
><em>**_Itachi has just found out he's to be a father, and that he lost his child in the same breath. Emotions run high as he tries to deal with his own anger and grief, all while trying to help his own devastated girlfriend cope with the loss. As the battles conclude, everything must be resolved, one way or another.  
><em>

_**Chapter Twenty-Four: The End**_

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><p>Okay, okay, everyone is going to shoot me because I'm bringing this up again. I'm annoying myself with it even. But before you put me on a pitchfork, hear me out about this sequel idea. Instead of writing a brand new story, how would you feel if I simply extended this story? It would be divided into parts, with the second part starting in chapter 26. I hesitate with making a sequel, because even though I have every chapter of the sequel planned out, I just feel uncomfortable writing one. I guess I feel like the sequel may not be strong enough to stand on its own, compared to this story, at least. I mean, I still want to write it. It'll wrap up a LOT of things that I'm purposely neglecting to finish in this story. So how would you all feel if I extended this story for another... eh... 25ish chapters? O.o I know a lot of people are waiting for the ending of this story before giving me a definitive answer, but I really don't think I want to post an entirely new story that continues this idea.<p>

...I was even planning this to be a bit of a trilogy. So maybe extend this story for 50 more chapters? Oh, dear, that makes me ill thinking about it. Is that too long? Sob, sob, sob, I just don't know. Someone, just tell me what they want! I'm open for ideas! (Not plot ideas, mind you. I have the plots planned out lol)

I'm done now. I'll see you next chapter. And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing!


	24. Chapter 24: The End

Sup? Today is my birthday and I wanted to post this chapter just for you guys! :D I even stayed up until 12:30 last night (when I have to get up at 6:00 for work!) to work on editing it. Just for you guys. Because I freaking love you. You have no idea how much I love you guys. So be awesome and love this chapter and send me reviews! :D Cause I'm a whore and I want themmmmmmm heeheehee.

In all seriousness, though, please read and enjoy. :)

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Four: <span>_The End_

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><p>Itachi felt stricken. He looked at Sakura, the blood around her legs, and closed his eyes. There was a rush of emotions that he had no idea how to deal with. He was going to be a father. <em>Was<em>. He was no longer a parent.

How did that make him feel? To be a parent? Did he want children? He never would have wanted the death of a child, especially not his own. He had never thought about children when he was alive. He always knew he would die childless.

Again, Sakura had given him so many opportunities. Did he want a child? At the moment, he wasn't sure. There was a relief that flooded his body as he realized he wouldn't have to make that choice at the moment. But he hated that feeling- he would rather have been a parent, than have to face the idea that his child was dead.

There was too much flooding his system. Part of him wanted to demand to know why Sakura hadn't told him the truth. Obviously, she had known about her condition for awhile. He assumed before she had even went to prison. She had fought Tsunade knowing that she was placing their baby in danger.

He knew he couldn't yell at her. Not now; it would accomplish nothing. Instead, he swallowed hard, turning back to face Tsunade. He needed to squash down all the emotions he was feeling. Right now, he had more important; no, more _dire_; issues to attend to. Not more _important_. His child and his girlfriend were more important that anything. But he couldn't focus on them completely until he got rid of the more pressing issue in front of them. He needed to defeat Tsunade and get Sakura healed. He needed to wrap this entire mess up.

"Guys, when I hit Tsunade in the head, I was able to read her chakra patterns enough to figure out what type of genjutsu is controlling her. To make her regain her senses, you need to trap her in the Sharingan. Once you trap her, I can undo this genjutsu. She has to be immobile." Itachi looked at the pinkette, amazed at her strength. She had just lost a baby, and yet, she was still able to deliver the orders and think about the problem in front of them. Sakura was keeping on task with the mission. She was a kunoichi through and through, despite the tears still streaming down her face.

Itachi nodded at Sasuke, knowing both of them had to team up so Tsunade would be forced to make eye contact with one of them. She was still aware of the fact that she needed to avoid their eyes.

While Sasuke and Itachi distracted Tsunade, Sakura finished healing the damage done to her body. She could do nothing about the blood staining her clothes and legs, but she could at least move. Sakura shakily got to her feet, shoving down her whispering thoughts.

_You killed your baby. You caused the death of your child. You did it. You did it. You! YOU! _

She had to ignore all of them. If she wanted to be of use, she needed to get rid of her depression and fight. She had a village to save. Other people were still counting on her.

Wiping her tears, that never seemed to stop, she took a deep breath. She watched the two men face off with her mentor. Sakura didn't even care that they were fighting her battle. She knew she could have continued to fight had she not been pregnant. She would have fought and defeated Tsunade.

But she lost her baby. She didn't have to fight anymore. She just wanted this entire ordeal to be over. She wanted to go home and sleep away all her problems and just forget anything had ever happened.

"Sakura! We're ready!" Sasuke called to her, one hand gripping Tsunade's arm. Itachi held the other arm, though from his glowing Sharingan, Sakura knew he was holding her tightly in some sort of genjutsu.

She nodded and walked over. Her fingers pressed into Tsunade's temples and she slowly worked through the genjutsu controlling her mind. She fell into a trance-like state, concentrating solely on the chakra patterns. Her chakra weaved in and out, almost as if she were painting a picture. With Itachi keeping Tsunade in his own genjutsu, it was difficult to establish which genjutsu was which. Thankfully, she was used to the Sharingan chakra and could mostly distinguish Itachi's genjutsu compared to the Council's genjutsu.

The Council's genjutsu was strong. It was the strongest genjutsu Sakura had ever encountered, barring those from the Sharingan. It had completely wiped Tsunade's mind, similar to the same type of jutsus the Yamanaka clan used to take control of a person. It was so strong, Sakura was sure there was no way Tsunade could break out of it herself. Someone had to break her out of it or kill the casters- the Council. Itachi had once told her about Shisui's super strong genjutsu- the Kotoamatsukami. If Sakura had to guess, this genjutsu was based after Shisui's bloodline ability. Of course it was a weaker version of the Kotoamatsukami, but it was an extremely strong genjutsu in its own right.

It took her a few minutes, but finally, painstakingly, she released the genjutsu. Sakura opened her eyes, withdrawing her hands. She nodded to Itachi, who released his control on the Sharingan. All three of them tensed, worried that Sakura may not have been able to rid Tsunade of the genjutsu.

However, it worked. Tsunade dazedly opened her eyes, acting as if she had just woken up.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, what are you doing to me?" Tsunade asked, glaring at the two. Her authoritative voice alerted all of them that it was actually Tsunade. Still, knowing that the genjutsu had caused Tsunade to still act like herself but still be under the control of the Council, none of them released her.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura began, trying to keep her voice strong, "why did you sign the mission scroll for the Hyuuga Clan Massacre?" Tsunade looked at Sakura strangely, and then took the time to scan around the mountain. She zeroed in on Naruto's, Sai's, Kakashi's, and Gaara's unconscious bodies.

"...Release me, boys. Sakura, what the hell has happened? The last thing I remember was going to a meeting with the Council. We were arguing... Where is Shizune? She was there!"

"We haven't seen Shizune in days," Sakura told her. "We have no idea what happened to her." Tsunade was briskly walking towards the unconscious boys.

"As I heal, explain to me what has been going on in my village. And Sakura? What the hell happened to you?" Sakura visibly flinched and Itachi gripped her arms, holding her upright.

"...You hit me," Sakura whispered. Tears were flooding her eyes again. "...I was pregnant, remember? The blood is- ...it's..." Tsunade stopped, closing her eyes. Her expression was broken and pained.

"...I'm so sorry, Sakura. I am so sorry."

* * *

><p>Neji deflected a blow from Hiashi, whirling around and kicking him to the ground. Standing over him, he drew chakra to his hand.<p>

"This is the match, Hiashi-sama." Hiashi took a deep breath, releasing his Byakugan.

"Yes it is, Neji. You are superior to me. I give you my blessings over the clan." Neji nodded, keeping his hand perched dangerously over Hiashi's chest.

"I'm done fighting, Neji. We need to get Hanabi and Hinata treated." Neji hesitated for a few more seconds but finally relented. He backed away, helping Hiashi to his feet. Hiashi scooped up Hanabi, while Neji picked up Hinata.

"It seems that Tsunade-sama is back to her senses. I see that she is healing Naruto at this moment."

"Yes." Both men lapsed into silence, heading towards Tsunade and Sakura. However, before they got there, Hiashi stopped Neji.

"You make your father proud, Neji. You look just like him, but more than that... The way you fight, the way you carry yourself... You've turned out to be better than your father. I'm extremely proud of you and I know he would be, too." Neji gave a true, small smile.

"Thank you, Hiashi-sama."

* * *

><p>"Look! Tsunade-sama is giving a signal!" One of the jounins surrounding Ino pointed to the Hokage Monument. She nodded, looking around the streets. Most of the shinobi were steadily heading towards the Hokage.<p>

Ino wasted no time. She dashed in front of all of them, knowing Sakura and Tsunade both needed her to heal. The closer she got, the clearer she could see the shinobi standing on the mountain. Tsunade was talking rapidly to Sasuke, Itachi, Naruto, Gaara, and Sakura. Neji, Hinata, Hiashi, and Hanabi were to one side. Along the other side were Sai and Kakashi. They seemed to be guarding the unconscious Council.

"Hey! Wait up, troublesome girl!" Ino slowed down to let Shikamaru and Temari join her side. "We're going to see what is going on, as well."

"Look at all the blood, Shikamaru," Ino pointed. Tsunade's shirt looked almost crimson, while Sakura's skirt and legs were covered in dried blood. Hinata and Hanabi both had blood stains on their shirts and chins; all of the shinobi had bloodied injuries of some sort. However, on closer inspection, Ino realized none of them had open wounds. Everything had been healed by Sakura and Tsunade.

She, Temari, and Shikamaru landed next to the Hyuugas. They made room for the three, but Neji held out a hand to stop them from moving forward.

"That group is having a very confidential meeting about the events that have occurred. They are trying to decide what to do with the Council and how much they should tell to the public. We're to wait while they discuss." The three nodded, standing back and waiting.

Ino gazed around, seeing shinobi filling in every crack and location they could in front of the Monument. They were all eagerly awaiting what Tsunade would tell them and what was going to happen now.

Ino felt the same way, she realized. Everything was so tense. As the minutes ticked by, she realized how fidgety she was. So much was going to happen with Tsunade's speech- what was going to happen to the Council? What about Sasuke and Itachi? And Sakura's execution? Naruto's Hokage status? Everything else?

And then like she always did, Tsunade stepped forward, nodding to the other nins to give her the time to speak. And as she opened her mouth, everyone fell silent to listen.

* * *

><p>"I want to prelude this speech by apologizing. I let my guard down and was taken advantage of; I was not able to protect this village like I am supposed to. And during those few days I was out of commission, everything apparently went to hell." Tsunade scanned the faces of the shinobi beneath her, making sure she had all their attention.<p>

"What Sakura has spoken is the absolute truth. Neji Hyuuga was assigned a mission to kill his clan; Arata Genji was assigned a clean-up mission to kill Hinata and Neji afterward, and a separate mission to kill Sasuke Uchiha; Sakura was falsely accused as a traitor and sentenced to death without a trial to get her out of the way; Naruto's position was revoked without proper procedures because of his 'criminal activity'; and I was placed under control by the Council." Sakura noted she cleverly avoided the entire topic of the Uchiha Clan Massacre altogether. Which was good; Sakura knew that Itachi, nor Sasuke, wanted their clan's dirty laundry to be on display for the entire village to see. The Uchiha Clan already had a bad enough rep as it was.

Of course, Sakura had already spilled the beans about the clan. Still, if it could stay as simply a rumor... Well, hopefully, no one would ask. Or Tsunade would evade the topic completely. Sakura could only hope.

"To address the issue of the Hyuuga Clan: We will go into a discussion with the Hyuuga Clan Elders, Neji, Hinata, and Hiashi about the divisions. Myself and Naruto will work closely with the Hyuuga Clan to smooth out any problems in the clan. We will not allow there to be a division that could harm the village. They are not plotting a revolution of any sort; and of course, they will not be executed. Neji and Hinata have been approved and accepted by the leadership of the village as the new joint Hyuuga Clan Heads." Tsunade's eyes shifted to the Hyuugas. All of them nodded, accepting her statements.

"Secondly, as for the mission to kill Sasuke- and Sasuke's violation of his probation. Yes, Sasuke had his Sharingan activated prematurely. I was aware of this as soon as he returned from his mission. However, I knew that Sakura had healed his eyes to save their lives. As soon as she could, she disabled his eyes. Therefore, I never pursued Sasuke's violation because it was not done with violent intentions. He is not allowed to use his Sharingan and I will extend his probation accordingly, but he is not going to be executed or arrested. It is better to have an Uchiha on our side, then against us, or wasting away in prison." There was a small murmur from the crowd, but they all fell silent seeing Tsunade's glare.

"Thirdly, Sakura. Her offenses were not of the highest caliber, like the Council proclaimed. Any experimentation with kinjutsu was only for medical purposes and I knew of every experiment she has ever done. I've approved of them all. As for reading classified documents- again, Sakura had my permission. I knew of any documents she had ever read, or 'tampered' with. Her seal placement has already been dealt with by me. Her involvement with Sasuke, as with the rest of Team Seven, was not out of malicious intent but simply survival. They had no intention of ever letting Sasuke's eyes remain useable with the Sharingan. Nonetheless, Sakura's crimes have been dealt with in the past and they do not warrant death." There were simultaneous nods throughout the crowd. Sakura was happy to see that the village was accepting of her.

"As for Naruto, he will, of course, be reinstated at the Hokage-in-waiting. Soon enough, he'll be officially made the Sixth Hokage. And, for the Council, I will be discussing their punishments and actions. I will not make an official statement on what to do with them for a few days." Tsunade nodded, deciding she had spoken enough. "If there is anything you would like to discuss, please, as always, come and see me. We will speak about your concerns and why you might be unhappy with this ordeal. I will be readdressing the village in a few hours. For now, I want all able bodied shinobi to pick up and clean up this mess; those that have been injured, please make your way to the hospital. Tonight at seven o'clock, I will officially address the village with the events that have occurred. Thank you all." Tsunade bowed, with the rest of the shinobi bowing back to her.

As she turned away, she gestured for the group to follow her.

"We need to find Shizune- Sai, Hanabi, Sasuke, and Temari (if you would), I'm tasking you four to find her. Ino, I want you to report to the hospital and take control there. Hiashi, I would like you to get the other two Noble Clan heads- Chouza and Shibi. The rest of us will report to my office to chat." Everyone nodded and went off for their respective jobs. Before leaving, she gripped Sakura's shoulder.

"You, Itachi, and I need to talk at some point today." Sakura gave a weak smile, her eyes tired and broken, and nodded. Tsunade released her, and Sakura dashed off towards Tsunade's office. Tsunade took a deep breath, surveying the village. Shinobi mulled around, fixing and repairing damaged buildings and cleaning up blood. She ran a hand through her hair, thankful that at least the majority of her shinobi were so easy to get along with. Now, she could only hope that her speech had been enough to quell any unrest that would grow within the village.

* * *

><p>Tsunade and Sakura were both changing in Tsunade's office, ridding themselves of their bloody clothes. Sakura always kept a spare outfit in Tsunade's office, having spent so many days and nights in the place.<p>

Tsunade gave Sakura a side glance, seeing her pupil's dulled and lack-luster movements. She couldn't blame the woman's grief.

"...I would like to check you and make sure you're okay, Sakura." Sakura nodded, walking over to Tsunade. She had no shirt or pants on as of yet; simply her underwear and chest bindings. Tsunade placed a glowing hand on Sakura's abdomen, concentrating. As she examined her pupil, she spoke.

"Were you ever able to tell Itachi?"

"...Not about the pregnancy. I mean, I had known for a few weeks. I'm pretty sure I got pregnant right after that mission with my team. Around the time I got the new schedule. It wasn't exactly a month- the baby, I mean. But I had known about the pregnancy for... for awhile."

"Yes. You never told me while we were training." Sakura looked down. "You protected it with your chakra, though. That's how I realized what had happened when I was healing you that last day. That's why we quit practice. But you knew that, didn't you?" Sakura nodded. "You never told anyone. Not even Itachi." Her unsaid question rang loud and clear in Sakura's ears. _Why?_

"I just... I was waiting for the perfect time. I wanted to wait a few months. I just... I thought I had all the time in the world." Tears were in her eyes again. Tsunade pulled her close, hugging her pupil.

"I am so sorry, Sakura." Sakura shook her head, trying to remain strong.

"I-I know it wasn't your fault, Tsunade-shishou. It... it was... w-was m-mine." Her facade fell and she began to bawl. "It was all my fault!" Her shoulders shook with the sobs, and Tsunade simply held her closer. Her body was okay, but her mental state was not. There was nothing Tsunade could do to heal that.

There was a knock on the door. "Tsunade-sama, are you ready to begin the meeting?" It was Itachi.

"Give us a few minutes. And Genji, get in here!" Itachi opened the door hesitantly, figuring he was being called in to speak about the Council. He was surprised to see his girlfriend in tears, sobbing into the Hokage's chest. "Close the door, Itachi," Tsunade told him softly.

Itachi was back to his regular disguise. His contacts were back in, covering his Sharingan, and his hair had been placed back into its high ponytail. Granted, all of the people Tsunade was going to be meeting with knew that he was Itachi Uchiha. Still, the disguise was habit for all of them.

"She's physically fine," Tsunade told him, stroking her pupil's hair. Itachi was rather surprised to see such a tender side to the fierce Hokage. "But... it'll take a while to recover. Be gentle to her. I know you're going to grieve along with her, but don't take your anger out on her." Itachi nodded, hesitant to approach Sakura. "Go ahead and get her dressed. You can take her on home and then come back. I want your input on what to do with the Council." Sakura shook her head, breaking away from Tsunade. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears. They didn't stop, but Sakura's expression was fierce.

"N-no, Tsunade-sama. I want to see this out to the very end. I was a major reason for it, after all." She shakily stood up, Itachi automatically wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. He helped her dress, gently pulling her red dress over her body. She pulled on her black shorts, running a hand through her hair, and finally nodding.

"Then let everyone in," Tsunade told them. Kakashi came in first, the two Councilors walking (though bound tightly) in behind him. Gaara, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Neji followed. "I've purposely excused Sasuke from this meeting because I believe he will be too rash in dealing with this. I want to hear everyone's opinions on what to do with the Council." Koharu and Homura stayed deathly silent. Everyone was relieved by their silence, though.

Tsunade's eyes shifted to Kakashi. He sighed, crossing his arms. "They shouldn't be killed, if that's what you're thinking. We're trying to avoid a diplomatic crisis and while their methods are despicable, it wasn't legally a crime. The Hyuuga Massacre never occurred and the Uchiha Massacre was agreed upon by Itachi."

"It was more Danzo's idea than the Council's," Itachi put in. "Danzo officially gave me the mission. The written scroll was simply a formality. I agreed to do it from Danzo; Danzo is dead. The Council are remnants of the mission."

"They are still heroes and famed shinobi of their own right," Shikamaru put in. "Their methods were unconventional, but they were simply trying to protect the village."

"By executing them," Gaara began, "you're going to have to deal with people higher than just the village. You'll have to explain everything as to why you'd be executing them. They're too powerful to just chop their heads off." Tsunade nodded, looking over at Naruto. He was biting his lip, looking down, frustrated.

"Naruto?" He took a deep breath, and nodded.

"I hate them. They are part of the ones who ruined Sasuke. But... Gaara is right. We can't kill them. And the villagers still love them. Well... maybe not as much as they did. But it'll be a lot to swallow for everyone if we order execution. I just... I don't know!" Sakura had stayed silent, watching Homura and Koharu. Maybe it was the death of her child. Maybe it was Itachi's past. Maybe it was her own close call with death. She wasn't sure, but as she looked at them, her hatred evaporated.

Hating someone took too much effort, too much strain. They were old, soon to be retired anyways. What was the point in killing them? For revenge? It wouldn't bring back the dead. It would simply divide the village and kill two very old shinobi who had tried to do what they thought was best for the village. They had been caught up in their own power struggle, desperately believing that the way of the past, the way of the Third Hokage, was the only way to remain strong.

"...No more blood shed," Sakura finally whispered. Everyone heard it, turning to her. "Enough with the killing and the murder. What's that going to accomplish in the end? Sure, it'll make us, the ones personally hurt, feel better. We can rest at night, knowing that the ones who had caused us pain were no longer there to hurt us. In any other case, I would want their punishment. But... but they didn't act out of hatred and selfishness, no matter what I had believed. It's not right to... to kill them."

"Hinata? Neji?" Hinata looked at Naruto and then Sakura.

"I... I agree with Sakura. Enough blood." Tsunade turned to Neji.

"I want them dead," he said flatly. "But, I understand why they cannot be killed. But I want them stripped of power." Tsunade nodded at that statement.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Koharu and Homura, we shall end this. You will be released. Your positions, once the other Clan Heads get here, will be stripped. But you will keep your lives." Both of them let out a sigh of, what seemed like, relief. Kakashi and Itachi cut the chakra cords binding their hands. "We'll discuss further punishment with the other Clan Heads. But at least know you won't be killed."

"We are done," Homura said softly. "We've had enough. Itachi, Neji, we are sorry. We've done a lot that we aren't proud of." Both of them bowed lowly to the two men. After a few seconds, they stood, facing Sakura and Naruto.

"We had the wrong ideas about both of you. We won't deny that we've been blinded by prejudice. We've been cruel, wrong, and hateful. We still don't agree with letting Sasuke roam around in the village, after everything he's done. But... you two... you're enough to keep him on track. Naruto," Koharu looked him in the eyes. Naruto straightened, swallowing nervously. "I believe you will be fine in leading the village. We will retire with no regrets who we leave the village in the hands of. Like he said, we're done."

"At my speech tonight," Tsunade told them, "we'll all officially announce your resignation. And Naruto, in two week's time, you'll be promoted. I'll make you the official Sixth Hokage. As for the new Council positions," Tsunade turned to Kakashi and Shikamaru. "Are you two still up for the job?" Both let out annoyed sighs, but nodded.

"How troublesome. Yes, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi hmmed in agreement, pulling out his favorite Icha Icha book.

"Good. Itachi, Naruto, you have the task of telling Sasuke. I have to meet with the other Noble Clan Heads (so Neji and Hinata, you two stay here) and Kakashi, Shikamaru, Koharu, and Homura, stay here as well. Kazekage," Tsunade turned to Gaara, "I'd also like to meet with you privately."

"Of course," Gaara nodded. Looking around, Tsunade waved a dismissive hand.

"Everyone else can leave. Sakura, go home and get some rest, okay? Itachi, take care of her. Both of you, get some rest." Sakura gave a strained smile, nodding.

Itachi kept a tight grip around her waist as they walked away. Outside the building, Naruto turned to him.

"We should go find Sasuke now, don't you think?"

"Let me get Sakura home first. Then we'll talk to him." Naruto frowned at his best friend, who was currently in tears again.

"What's up with you?" he asked her. She looked at him and shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it. Itachi can tell you. I just want to go home and sleep." Itachi, much to Sakura's chagrin, picked her up, holding her to his chest. He nodded to Naruto and they both took off towards her home. She was already asleep before they had even made it home.

* * *

><p>The hot water poured down her back. She had curled her legs to her chest, resting her head on her knees. There was no blood left to wash off, but she could still see it. It wasn't there, but at the same time, she would always see it.<p>

At least she had stopped crying. Sakura couldn't cry anymore, not at the moment. Her fingers trailed along her stomach. It was flat- of course it was. She had no tell-tale signs of being pregnant. It hadn't even been a month; most women wouldn't have even realized they were pregnant. Especially kunoichi. Kunoichi were kept on birth control at all times to keep from having periods. Most shinobi could smell blood and no kunoichi wanted to be on a mission when they were on their menstrual cycle. When a kunoichi did get pregnant, it was rare. Most didn't know until they got a check-up, or until they got the obvious signs of pregnancy (morning sickness, food cravings, and sometimes, not until they developed the baby bump).

But Sakura wasn't a field ninja. She didn't have to regularly keep on the birth control. It had been a while- since the beginning last mission with Team Seven- since she had taken the pills. And she was a medical ninja. She knew practically a week after she had gotten pregnant that she was going to have a baby.

Of course when she found out, she was distraught. She didn't know what to do, what to tell Itachi, what to tell Tsunade. She didn't have enough rooms in the house for a baby. She knew she and Itachi made plenty enough money to provide for the baby, but that didn't mean Itachi wanted it. For all she knew, family might leave a bitter taste in his mouth after what had happened with his clan. She hadn't even seen him interact with children before.

And then, after the initial wariness had died down, once she had accepted the fact that she was going to be a mom, she had been elated. A child to raise and train and watch grow. A child to love and adore. Everything they would do together. Happy fantasies about her and Itachi and the child.

It was gone. Washed away, just like the blood from between her legs. Sakura leaned back, letting her head rest against the tiled wall. The hot water had turned cold some time ago, but Sakura could hardly tell the difference. She just wanted the water to keep spraying on her, cleaning her. Hopefully, it would wash away all the blood, all the pain, all the grief, all her sins.

The door knob twisted and the door opened. The gentle footsteps (she knew he was purposely letting himself be heard) were to alert her he was coming in. She said nothing, but moved her head back to her knees, burying her face. He opened the glass door, looking down at her.

"The water is freezing. You're shivering," he told her softly. He got to his knees, taking a piece of her hair between her fingers. Sakura gazed up at him, noting how the shower was making him wet, as well as the floor. He reached over her, turning off the water. Sakura didn't move from her spot.

Taking a large, fluffy, pink towel, Itachi wrapped it around Sakura's shoulders. He picked her up, wrapping the rest of towel around her body. She was not responsive, but that didn't deter Itachi. He kept her in the towel, carrying her into her bedroom. He gently deposited her on the bed, wrapping her comforter and sheets around her. Itachi pressed a kiss to her cheek, murmuring he'd be back in a few minutes.

True to his word, he returned, carrying a tray. Sakura noticed there was a bowl of ramen on it with a cup of hot chocolate. He sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to eat. Sakura knew he was doing his best to comfort her. So, for him, despite the fact that she had no appetite, she began to eat the soup.

"We talked to Sasuke," Itachi told her. "He was livid, as we expected. It took both of us to restrain him from going to kill them himself. We were forced to knock him unconscious; he's sleeping on the couch, right now. I'll have to talk to him when he wakes up." She nodded, knowing that would not be a fun conversation for him. "They also found Shizune. She was trapped down in the deeper areas of the prison. She was in pretty bad shape; Tsunade healed her, though. She's resting in the hospital, but she'll be fine." Sakura nodded again, taking a small sip of the hot chocolate. Itachi watched her in silence, frowning lightly.

"However, Sakura, I wanted to talk to you first before I speak to Sasuke. We need to discuss what happened." She looked down, cupping her hot chocolate. "I know you don't want to. But I deserve to know." Sakura nodded, mutely.

"I haven't been taking the birth control for a few weeks. When you and I... Well, probably the day I got my new schedule was about the time I got pregnant. It took me about a week to realize it and then, I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know what you would say." Itachi stayed silent, letting Sakura talk. And she did. She told him absolutely everything that had happened- discussing her feelings about the child, her fears about Itachi being a father, her excitement, her plans, the training sessions with Tsunade, when Tsunade found out, why she hadn't told him once she went to prison, why she hadn't told him at all, why she was stubborn and wanted to fight her mentor, how she lost the baby, and anything else she could think of about the situation.

By the time she had finished talking, and the two lapsed into silence, Sakura's ramen had gone cold, as had her hot chocolate. Itachi was looking out the window, thinking. Sakura was staring at her lap.

"Next time, tell me," he finally said. "I'm not going to chide you or anything of the sort. You've... been through enough; you don't need me to add to it. But, Sakura, for future reference, I would never leave you to take care of our child alone. I wouldn't have been angry about the pregnancy, either." She nodded, not looking up at him.

"...Are you angry now?" _At me?_ He reached over, gently touching her hand.

"I'm angry at the outcome. I wish I would have known. But there is nothing we can do now. We simply must learn from our mistakes." She nodded, finally looking at him. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek. "Next time, promise to tell me as soon as you know. Okay?"

"Yes. Yes, I promise." He pressed his lips to her forehead. Sakura reached up, gripping his shirt. Her fingers trailed up to his face and she left them there, looking at him. "I am so sorry. For everything. All of this... since I revived you... it's just..." He gave a small smile, his eyes softening at her.

"It has taken a long while to come to terms and accept my new life. But I do not regret it in the least. Even with everything that has happened, you've given me another chance to live the life I never had. To rekindle my relationship with my brother. To be a shinobi for the village I loved so much. And you gave me a chance to experience regular relationships that I never imagined I would ever have. Friends, love..." He wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek.

"I wouldn't give up what you've given me if I had the choice." She smiled and kissed him. The kiss was slow and tender, but it seemed to cheer both of them. Finally, after breaking apart, Itachi picked up Sakura's tray.

"Go ahead and sleep; relax. I'll see you later." Sakura nodded and snuggled into her warm blankets, closing her eyes. She just wanted everything to be better when she woke up.

* * *

><p>Sasuke opened his eyes, noting that his head was aching. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling the knot from where Naruto had hit him. Remembering why he was forced unconscious brought a wave of anger flooding through his veins. Sasuke sat up on the couch, not surprised to see his older brother sitting across from him, waiting for him to wake.<p>

"If you wake Sakura up, I swear I will not be gentle when dealing with you, little brother." Itachi's contact-covered eyes flashed a darker blue. Sasuke knew he had activated his Sharingan. He glared back, wishing he had his own Sharingan to fall back on. However, shortly after Tsunade's address to the entire village, she had pulled Sasuke aside and disabled them once more. She had then told Sasuke that under no circumstance was he to have Sakura activate his eyes until the approved date. His chakra pathways were extremely damaged from the constant disabling and reattaching. It was so bad that when the time came for Sasuke to regain his privileges with the Sharingan, he would have to undergo a careful operation that Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura would have to perform.

Still, his glare, while not as menacing as his brother's, was still able to do enough of a job to portray his anger. He had _not_ forgotten what had happened a few hours earlier and he was still _royally pissed off_ about the entire ordeal. It wasn't fair that he couldn't kill the Council. They had been a part of the group that had ordered his clan dead. If the Third Hokage had still been alive, Sasuke would have wanted to kill him, too. He already killed Danzo. He wanted all of them dead; that would be the perfect way to have his revenge.

He hadn't changed _that_ much, after all. His thirst for revenge hadn't diminished during his stay in the village. He had been so close to beheading the Council. His sword had been at their throats. And then Sakura's ear-piercing scream had made him hesitate. And even from that distance, he could smell the abnormal amount of blood.

His hand had trembled, and he waited, debating for at least five seconds about what to do. Finally, he had decided to knock out the Council (knowing he wanted to _savor_ their death, and with Sakura screaming and probably dying in the background would not let him enjoy the _delectable_ moment when he would get his revenge) and go to Sakura's side.

Why hadn't he killed them then? Sasuke growled low in his throat. Now he couldn't kill them. And they didn't even have to serve a prison sentence! They had _slaughtered_ his clan!

"...Why did you agree to this?" Sasuke asked Itachi, clenching the cushions on the couch. His shoulders were tense and he wanted to explode and go on a rampage. "You knew what killing them means to me." Itachi stood up, watching his brother carefully.

"Think about the consequences, Sasuke. Once again, I'm protecting you," Itachi responded coldly. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "You would surely be executed if you killed them." Sasuke's nostrils flared angrily and he opened his mouth to retort. Itachi cut him off, saying, "No. No more with this revenge business. I've put up with it long enough. I love you, Sasuke- I always will- but enough. You are no longer a child."

"A child? Really, Itachi?" Sasuke stood up, facing off with his brother. "You weren't the one left in the ruins of the Uchiha Compound, surrounded by the dead bodies of your clansmen!"

"I told you to watch your voice," Itachi hissed. "If you wake Sakura up, Sasuke, I will be livid. She needs her rest." Sasuke tensed, feeling his anger rise even further. Something in him wanted to snap at the idea that Itachi was placing more importance on Sakura's sleep than on the entire fact that the two people who had ordered their clan's destruction was walking away with a free ticket.

"...I can't believe you, Brother. You..." Sasuke was seething. He clenched his fist, having half a mind to punch Itachi in the nose, and having another half of mind to storm out of the house. He decided to do both.

Itachi saw the punch coming but took it, feeling his nose crack from Sasuke's hit. Blood gushed down his face, but he paid it no mind. Sasuke whirled around, panting heavily from rage. Still, he turned back long enough to glare at his brother.

"I expected you to be on my side for once. But, like all the other times, you've gone behind my back and did something that you _think_ is for the best. I'm sick and tired of it. I can make my own damn choices. I don't need you interfering." He whirled around, storming out of the house. Before he closed the door, he looked back, narrowing his eyes. "And mark my words, they will die by my hands. Maybe not now, but they will. I swear to you." He slammed the door, fuming.

Itachi sighed, finally deciding to deal with his nose. He stuffed it with tissue, wiping away the blood. A simple medical jutsu healed the cracked bone, though he wasn't as proficient as Sakura. There was still a nasty bruise that wouldn't go away.

Sighing, Itachi let it be. He realized he was exhausted- both emotionally and physically. He had used his Mangekyou Sharingan that day, and while it no longer taxed his body as much as before, it still used a significant amount of chakra, especially the Tsukuyomi. Furthermore, he had found out he was going to be a father, and in the same breath, found out he had lost his child. And then he had come face to face with two of the people who had ordered him to kill his clan- and he had agreed for their release and no execution. And then there was Sasuke...

He could live with the fact that Sasuke might hate him, _again_, because Itachi knew he did deserve it. He had lived with Sasuke hating him for most of his life so this was no different. Still, it hurt. He didn't want to hurt his brother, nor rob his brother of the chance of revenge, if it would make Sasuke come to terms with what had happened to the clan. Obviously, Sasuke still had issues trying to see the other side. He probably would never see _why_ Danzo and the Council were so adamant about ordering the execution of the clan. He would never be able to see that they did have some noble intentions behind the orders.

This was something that he would let Naruto handle. The blonde seemed to do an excellent job of getting Sasuke to see the light. For now, he had a raging headache, his nose hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with Sakura.

So he did just that, deciding to worry about his problems tomorrow. Sakura stirred enough to see that it was Itachi joining her in bed- she accommodated him into the bed, shifting to snuggle next to him. Her towel was still tied tightly around her chest, and he loosely wrapped his arms around her waist, trying not to undo it. They both fell asleep, not necessarily peaceful, but enough for both of them to feel relaxed in the other person's arms. It was what both of them needed.

* * *

><p>Ino was there, stroking her head. Sakura had already cried out all her tears when telling her best friend what had happened.<p>

"It'll be okay, though, Sakura. You'll be okay." Sakura nodded, resting her head in Ino's lap. "The time off relaxing will be good for you, too."

"...I know," Sakura told her hoarsely. "I just wish Itachi were here." Ino continued to stroke her head, running her fingers through Sakura's pink locks. She was surprised to notice how much longer her hair had gotten.

"You know everyone is busy preparing for Naruto's ceremony. It's a big deal." Sakura nodded. "Sasuke will be back soon, too."

"Not until closer to Naruto's date. You know how angry he was about the Council. He was livid. It took Naruto and Itachi to restrain him, or at least, that's what Itachi told me." Ino nodded.

"It did. I was there. Sasuke hadn't found out about the Council until after Tsunade's public speech. He had turned to Naruto and Itachi demanding to know what was going on. After they explained it to him, it turned violent. They had to knock him unconscious."

"He still hasn't spoken to Itachi since then," Sakura whispered. "Itachi said that Sasuke woke up later that night and they argued. Sasuke busted Itachi's nose and then stormed out of the house. He didn't return that night, and only came the next day to pick up some clothes. He stayed in the Uchiha Compound for the next two days. Finally Naruto had to go and talk some sense into him. Apparently, he's on a mission now. Tsunade-sama said it was so he could blow off some steam."

"It'll be good for him," Ino told her. "And you, too. You don't need his pissy attitude right now."

"He has a right to be upset, though. It's not fair to him." Ino rolled her eyes, clearly not feeling sympathetic.

"He needs to learn to deal with it. Do remember the fact that he is an ex-criminal. He should be thanking his lucky stars that he's allowed to live as an almost regular shinobi in this village. He doesn't have the right to feel entitled to this. Sasuke's crimes were technically worse than the Council's. At least they were trying to protect the village. Sasuke was, as I recall, trying to destroy this place. And I still haven't forgiven him for nearly killing you that one time!" Sakura looked down, twisting the sheets in her hands.

"...Yeah. He never really apologized for that, either." Ino rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly.

"Of course he hasn't. He's _not sorry_," Ino told her slowly, almost as if Sakura were stupid. "Do you really think that he _likes_ this village? He likes you and his team and Itachi. For all we know, he's just biding his time and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's never forgiven anyone for what they did to his clan. And he's not sorry for his past actions, either. He doesn't regret going to Orochimaru, or fighting the Kages, or any of that." Sakura sat up, looking at Ino, frowning contemplatively.

"But he's changed." Ino sighed, shaking her head.

"Not that much, Sakura. Sure he's nice to you, but if push came to shove..."

"He left the Council to save me." Ino raised an eyebrow.

"I just don't see it, Sakura. But, it's of no matter at the moment. He's gone for a few days, which is good for everyone." Ino reached out, taking a strand of Sakura's hair. "You know what will cheer you up? A day out. A girls day. I'll get Hinata and Tenten to come, too." Sakura gave a half smile. "And don't tell me you don't want to." Ino wagged a finger in front of Sakura's face. "It's what the doctor ordered! And remember, I _am_ a doctor." That brought a full smile to Sakura's face. After a few seconds, she nodded.

"Yeah. I'm tired of being holed up in this house. I've been in here for six days straight. I want to stretch and shop and do other girly things." Ino's grin was radiant.

"Then go take a shower and I'll lay an outfit out for you. 'Kay?"

"Yes!"

* * *

><p>The diamond ring sparkled in the sunlight. All of the girls crowded around her hand to see it.<p>

"It's beautiful," Ino breathed, counting the diamonds in the ring. There were six small diamonds surrounding the heart-shaped larger diamond in the center. "And it's about time, too." Sakura nodded, agreeing.

"He asked me for help picking it out," Hinata told them. "He wanted to do it as soon as the entire Hyuuga Clan thing settled down." Tenten smiled, lightly ghosting her fingers over the engagement ring.

"I was scared he would never propose," Tenten told them. "And with Naruto's ceremony in exactly a week... I just feel like it came at the perfect time." All four girls settled back into their chairs, happy to see that their orders had come.

It was all sweets. Dango, uiro, anmitsu, wagashi, manju, different types of mochi, several cakes, cookies, even parfaits. There was a tea kettle left on the table, but the girls hardly drank any. Instead they chatted, discussing their significant others (besides Ino, who was currently single), the village, Naruto's upcoming promotion, the Hyuuga Clan, and the future of the Uchiha Clan. Their conversations lasted hours, but it was nice catching up.

"Soo... what are your plans for the future?" Tenten asked, directing her questions towards Sakura and Ino. "Obviously, Hinata has settled into this Clan Matriarch role and soon enough she'll be the new Hohime of the village."

"Hohime?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at the name. "Fire Princess?" Tenten grinned.

"That's what they've been calling it. I guess that's what Lady Kushina was called, too."

"Oh," Sakura remarked lamely.

"Anyways, what about you two? What are your plans for the future? I'm somehow being worked into the Hyuuga Clan with Neji as the second Matriarch. That entire situation is confusing." Hinata shook her head, smiling.

"No, no. You or Naruto aren't going to be called 'Matriarch' or 'Patriarch'. Those titles are strictly reserved for Neji and I. You two are giving honorary titles. They'll call you Lord or Lady; you'll be underneath us, without too much influence in the clan." Her smile was apologetic. Tenten shrugged.

"That works for me. Anyways, back to you two. Your plans for the future. Sakura?" Sakura sighed, twirling the stick of dango between her fingers.

"Nothing really? If you're wondering if I'm planning to marry Arata, well, I have no idea. We haven't even been dating a year, so we're just taking things slow. You know how I am. Anyways, you and Neji dated for like three years before he got engaged with you. And Naruto was even slower!" Sakura turned to face Hinata. "You confessed your feelings to that boy when you were sixteen. You started dating as soon as the Fourth Shinobi War ended, and he didn't propose to you for another, what, four years?" She nodded. "I figure my current goals are to help Naruto transition into his new Hokage role. Tsunade and Shizune are going to want to be put on the hospital schedule too, so we'll be reforming and working on our policies and procedures more than ever now. Those are my current goals, I guess. Ino?" Ino grinned, plopping a piece of cake into her mouth.

"Oh, the same as always. I'm a free girl; that's how I like it. I might try to force Shika to speed up his relationship with Temari. Might take a mission with the boys, too. Get out of the village for awhile. That's always fun. So, no major plans for my future! I'm perfectly content with my life as it is." Ino threw them a grin, examining her manicured nails. "Look, I chipped a nail during that battle. What a drag." The girls couldn't help but laugh at her carefree attitude.

* * *

><p>He flipped over a branch, sliding into the shadows. His teammate slowed down, landing on the branch above him. He looked up, nodding once. Both of them waited exactly six seconds before they went in separate directions.<p>

He had his kunai to their target's throat before the woman could even take a breath. As for his partner, he was positive that the other target would be subdued without problems. He tightened his hold on the woman, one hand over her mouth, the other pressing his blade into her neck. Blood was gathering into little beads, trickling down her creamy throat.

Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear. "For your involvement in the prostitution ring, we are executing you in the name of the Five Villages." She was struggling, but it was over before she could put up a decent fight. He drew the kunai quickly across her throat, not blinking an eye when the blood squirted across the field.

His mission was complete. He was not to dispose of the body- it was specifically stated that he was to leave the body out as an example to her comrades. He was sure he'd be on another mission soon enough to finish cleaning up this messy prostitution slave ring that was spreading throughout the countries. All of the Five Great Shinobi Villages were sending their own shinobi to dismantle it.

A crunch of grass alerted him to his partner's otherwise soundless drop. Giving one more nod, the two took off back towards home. They were not far from the village as it was. It would be about a two hour journey.

It was silent throughout the entire journey. ANBU, by nature, simply didn't talk to each other that often. They were used to being silent and deadly. Talking seemed like a distraction. But, once they were through the village gates, both men turned to each other.

"Hey, tell Ugly that she better be at practice tomorrow. Are you going to come too?" Itachi sighed, wondering when Sai figured out who he was exactly. He was realizing that more and more of his friends were identifying his "secret" identity. ANBU weren't supposed to be identified, but there was no helping it.

Sighing, Itachi removed his cat mask, turning to look at the still masked nin. "No, I'll probably rest. Your team can do the practice. This is my fifth straight mission this week and I'm ready to take a break." Sai removed his own mask, grinning.

"I do not blame you. I'll go ahead and do the report. Go on home to Ugly." Itachi rolled his eyes at the nickname Sai had given to his girlfriend. "I..." Sai hesitated and Itachi stopped, seeing that Sai clearly wanted to say something. "How is Sakura doing? I saw the... the blood and I recognized what it was. We had someone in Root get pregnant. To save herself, she killed the baby and it made the same type of mess that was on Sakura," Sai explained briefly. Itachi straightened, noting that Sai was the first male who knew of Sakura's condition without having been told. To Itachi's knowledge, the only people that knew of Sakura's lost pregnancy was Tsunade, Shizune, himself, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, and now Sai.

"She's... doing better than I expected," Itachi finally said. "I haven't been able to be with her as much as I would have liked, but she's keeping herself busy. It seems she's been spending a lot of time with her female friends, especially Ino."

"...Is she training a lot, though? I know Tsunade-sama would have put her on restrictions from the hospital and missions." Itachi stiffly nodded, wondering how Sai knew Sakura's patterns so well. As if he read his mind, Sai answered, "Whenever Sakura went through hardships or traumatic events, she would train herself to the point of unconsciousness. Since the end of the War, we've become very close. I was usually the one to take her from the training grounds and clean her up and put her to bed."

"What traumatic events has she had?" They were walking together now, seemingly not having a particular destination in mind as they strolled the late-night streets.

"Well, after Sasuke was arrested and brought back, she trained herself raw for nearly two months straight. Then, when she was eighteen, she lost her first patient. There was a good three weeks of constant training. Before that, when she was forced to lose her virginity, she trained a lot after that, too." Itachi vividly remembered that it was Sai that Sakura lost her virginity to. "Though she never talked about them to us, I know after her first seduction mission, and her second, she wore herself out with training. Those are the most recent ones I can remember. She hasn't done things like that for awhile; apparently, instead of training, she would work on that jutsu of hers that revived you. But old habits die hard. Without that to occupy her time, I'm sure she's back to training her body."

"...I've been finding her at the training grounds a lot when I get home. She tries to do it at night so that none of her friends worry. I agreed to keep it between us; don't tell anyone, Sai." Sai shook his head.

"You're the first person I ever spoke to about this. Just, I know this goes without saying, but please watch her. She'll kill herself if she's not careful. I feel like this is one of the worst things that has happened to her. I know she's going to train herself beyond her limitations." Itachi nodded. "That's all I wished to speak to you about. Goodnight, Itachi-san."

"Goodnight, Sai." Pressing his lips together in a tight line, Itachi parted from Sai, heading home. He was crossing his fingers that Sakura would be there, in bed, where she belonged.

Of course, the moment he stepped through the window, he knew she was gone. The entire house was empty. Groaning, he slid his ANBU mask back on, and slipped back through the window. He took off in her direction, knowing which training ground she was in. It was the same one she trained in with her team.

Sure enough, she was there. He could hear her before he saw her. Sakura was pounding away at the dummies, splitting trees and cracking the ground. Itachi silently landed on a branch, watching her.

She let everything show when she trained alone. There was no mask of fake cheeriness, no smiles, no lies. It was pure Sakura and her emotions. He was surprised to see no tears on her face- it seemed she had gotten past the crying part of her grief. Now it seemed like she was enraged.

Her body twisted in midair as she threw kunais at targets she had pinned on trees. Itachi grinned, seeing that she was trying to mimic his technique. Her aim wasn't as great as his, but she at least managed to hit all of the targets, even if it wasn't in the center. She landed on all fours, scanning around the training field. It was rugged and broken from her punches but she didn't seem deterred.

Sakura jumped up again, drawing kunais from her pouch. She threw them in all directions and then drew chakra to her feet to speed up. Sakura dashed towards each kunai, trying to stop them, one at a time, from hitting the trees. She was able to stop about five out of the thirteen she threw.

Itachi realized she was panting. Her chakra levels were dangerously low. It appeared that she had been training for hours before he had arrived. Grunting, she collected the rest of her kunai, placing them back in her pouch.

Wiping the sweat off her brow, Sakura created a chakra scalpel. She sliced her arm open, watching the blood drip. Closing her eyes, she meditated. Itachi watched curiously, wondering what she was planning. He knew it had to be some sort of medical jutsu she was developing because he knew Sakura never purposely hurt herself.

Sure enough, it seemed that she was practicing healing herself without using her hands. The wound was closing on its own, the only sign of it being healed was the green glow surrounding the cut and the steam filtering up from the wound.

However, in her weakened state, it seemed to leave her winded. Itachi watched with baited breath as Sakura fell to her knees. She wasn't unconscious but he was surprised to see her vomit. She had been training too hard, obviously.

He dropped silently beside her, holding up her hair as she puked what little contents she had in her stomach. She said nothing to him as she finished. He helped her to her feet and she gazed at his face impassively. He didn't need to tell her to go home; she knew what his presence meant. Sakura was stubborn and refused to let him carry her home, despite the fact that she was barely able to walk straight. He let her be, though, knowing that more than ever, she wished to be strong.

They made it home without a word. Both of them undressed silently, though Itachi gazed at her through the mirror in their room. He was appalled to see the bruises and scratches on her usually flawless body. He whirled around, gripping her arm tightly.

"Enough of this, Sakura. I've let you train yourself raw for the past week. I know you won't stop anytime soon. I understand the need to train to release your emotions. But I will not allow you to keep damaging your body. Look at yourself." He steered her in front of the mirror, forcing her to examine herself.

She was skinnier than she had ever been. Her skin was pallid, her eyes surrounded by dark circles, her hair hung limply without it's usual luster, and bruises, scratches, and other wounds marred her body.

"I..." Sakura's voice was raspy. Itachi hugged her from behind.

"You're killing yourself and I won't allow it. Sakura, take better care of yourself. Please." She took a deep breath, nodding. "Don't lie to me, Sakura. I don't want lies." She turned to face him, her vibrant jade eyes glassy.

"I promise, Itachi. I'll stop doing this. I'll eat better. I won't train like this anymore. I'll stop." He kissed her neck, winding his arms around her waist.

"You don't have to stop training. But you do have to stop killing yourself with training. Now, let's go to bed. And remember that you have the Team Seven training session tomorrow." She nodded, following him to their bed.

"No Sasuke, though."

"That's probably for the best. I doubt my little brother has cooled down yet. It'll be awhile."

"Do you think... think he's changed?" Itachi stroked her face, closing his eyes.

"Yes and no. He's better than he was years ago in the War. But, at the same time, I think he might be relapsing into his old ways. We'll watch him and see how he reacts in the upcoming months." Sakura nodded, snuggling into Itachi's chest. "Don't worry, Sakura. He won't become what he once was." She stayed silent, not sure if she agreed or not.

* * *

><p>The day was upon them. Everyone was dressed in their official uniforms. The Fire Damiyo had arrived, as had two of the other Kages (Gaara and Mei). The last two Kages had sent some of their shinobi as replacements- the noticeable one being Killer B for Cloud.<p>

Sasuke had returned, as well. He had been back for a day and had stayed stonily silent towards Itachi. This day, though, he seemed to be acting like his regular self, if only for Naruto's sake. He was dressed in his jounin wear, much like Sakura.

The top Leaf shinobi were standing with Naruto on the Hokage's Tower. Sakura remained to the side with Shizune since the two were considered the Heads of the Medic Nin Corps and the hospital, as well as the Hokage's personal assistants. Across from them stood the Four Heads of the Noble Clans of Konoha- Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga, Shibi Aburame, and Chouza Akimichi. In the middle stood Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Naruto, the Fire Damiyo, and Shikaku Nara (as the leader of the jounin). Behind them, the two other Kages and the Rock and Cloud representatives stood. Finally, on all the perches behind the shinobi, several ANBU crouched, guarding the group. Sakura knew at least three- Sai, Neji, and Itachi. They had their masks drawn over their face, but she was positive Naruto knew his closest friends were there. And, as a special request, Iruka was standing with them, beside Sakura and Shizune. Naruto had wanted the one man that had been by his side for the majority of his life to witness first hand his coronation.

The entire village was out to see his promotion. In front of everyone stood the rest of Rookie Eleven- Lee, Tenten, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Shino and their respective senseis. Kankuro and Temari also stood, deciding they wanted to see Naruto's promotion first hand as well. But shinobi and civilians alike were crowded around, all hoping to get a glimpse of Naruto. He was, after all, still the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The Fire Damiyo spoke first, saying something about an honor to promote such a worthy ninja, especially since he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, and yadda yadda yadda. Sakura tuned him out; he was simply a giant windbag. Tsunade was next to speak. Sakura perked up to listen to the Fifth.

"I don't think I truly believed when I first gave you this necklace," she touched the light blue crystal still hanging around Naruto's neck, "that you would actually make it to this day. Everyone I had given this necklace to had died before they had managed to accomplish their dream. But you, being your typical gutsy self, proved me wrong. You proved everyone wrong. From dead last in the Academy to the Sixth Hokage... You deserve it, Naruto. Not only were you able to train and befriend the beast inside you, but you saved the village, defeated Tobi, and united the shinobi world. You followed your dreams and with great happiness I am glad to say, finally after more than ten years of watching you grow up, that you are now the Sixth Hokage." Tsunade removed her hat and placed it on Naruto's head. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves will be honored to have you as their Hokage!" Tsunade stepped back, letting the applause do the rest of the talking. It was deafening. Screams of joy and excitement were breaking out all over the village. Chants of, "We love you, Naruto!" exploded.

Naruto touched his new hat, smiling. He stepped forward to the edge of the balcony, then jumped upwards, balancing on the rail. Grinning, tears starting to flow down his cheeks, he waved back to all the villagers. Sakura could hear him say something like, "Thank you for letting me be the Hokage! I am honored to serve you!" but it was drowned out by the cheering. Naruto gave a thumbs up to the village, and glanced back at all his friends.

Behind him, everyone was applauding and smiling. Naruto made eye contact with Hinata and jumped off the rail, taking his wife into his arms. He swung her around, kissing her.

"Thank you for always believing in me. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize what a jewel I had; you believed in me from the beginning and you're still here with me at the end. I am so blessed to have you, Hinata." He broke away from his wife and looked around at all his friends.

"Thank you all. I couldn't have done any of this without you guys. Without Iruka-sensei believing in me; without my team- Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-bastard, and Sai-bastard; Tsunade-baa-chan and Shizune-nee-chan; Gaara, Killer B." He smiled at all of them. "I only wish... I only wish that the Pervy Sage was here with me. But... but thank you all for sticking with me to the end. This has been my dream; to be the Hokage with all my friends around me on this day." He smiled widely, wiping away his tears.

"It's finally happened guys. I finally did it. No, we finally did it!" That was the last thing he managed to say before he was tackled with a group hug, muffling all of his thanks and tears.

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Hoo wee, that was a bit of choppy chapter. A lot of scene changes. But this chapter covers a considerable amount of issues. A lot of which will continued to be addressed next chapter ;D Anyways, onto explaining things. I was smart this time. I made a list to remember everything! Harharhar.<p>

1. Someone brought this up in a review last chapter and I think it pertains both to last chapter and this chapter. That is the fight against Tsunade. Someone pointed out the fact that five shinobi versus Tsunade- well, it should have been a rather easy match for the five. Now this review was anonymous so I couldn't explain my reasoning in a reply; I'll try to do an abridged version. For one, I do believe Tsunade is the strongest shinobi that remains in the village, besides Itachi. If you look at her stat total, she's .5 below Itachi- who has the highest stat total in the Naruto handbooks (along with Jiraiya). I wanted to illustrate the point in the last chapter that Tsunade had to simply touch any of the five to knock them out. Which is how Sai and Kakashi fell pretty quickly. Naruto and Gaara, being Kage level, would have put up more of a fight. Which is why they were defeated because they purposely sacrificed themselves to protect Sakura. Before someone complains, please look at the manga. Compare Tsunade to Gaara in the fight with Madara. I dunno about you, but to me, Tsunade is doing the brunt of the work. She's a trooper, taking blows, throwing Susanoo around, all that jazz. I don't see Gaara doing that. Naruto is pretty beasty and all, but he's restraining himself to not harm Tsunade in the fight. Tsunade doesn't have such restraints. Continuing with this idea, Itachi and Sasuke beat Tsunade pretty quickly in this chapter. There are several legit reasons for that. For one, Tsunade was low on chakra. She had used her Rebirth Technique, she had just fought off five shinobi, and she had taken serious damage, too. Sasuke and Itachi were not that way. All they had to do was simply lock Tsunade in their genjutsu- Itachi was able to accomplish that. I hope this explains my reasonings :x

2. The genjutsu that was controlling Tsunade. I hope I explained that well enough in the chapter. The Council had created their own genjutsu- remember, they are old and skilled shinobi. They would have had enough time in their lifetime to create their own powerful genjutsus. And yes, it was based off of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami. The two had undoubtedly seen Shisui's jutsu before and wanted to replicate it in some way. But that's why the genjutsu was so powerful on Tsunade.

3. Next, some of you are probably ready to kill me. Because I spared the Council. Because I'm a douche like that. :D Now, seriously, though, a lot of you are probably disagreeing with me. You all are probably like, "No, no, the Council committed a crime. People in the village should be outraged. They should be killed." And I'm inclined to agree with you. But one of the deciding factors that kept me from killing off the Council was the manga. Read Itachi's flashback to his mission. It was talked about by the Hokage. And Danzo was the one to assign it; not the Council, per se. But, nonetheless, it was _legal_. It was a legit mission. That's not a crime. Yes, people in the village will be outraged. And the Council did get more than just their ranks stripped from them. They probably got house-arrest and had to retire from being shinobi, or something akin to that. But please remember that it shouldn't be fair to kill the Council, who were loyal Konoha shinobi and famed war heroes; and not kill Sasuke who was an _international S-ranked __criminal_. Be fair here. Sasuke had just as many crimes as the Council. But his were worse. Because he was _trying_ to destroy Konoha. So just keep that in mind before you have my head.

**_Edit (7/20): Umm, so wow. It hasn't even been a day and I'm already getting ferocious reviews about this. I will admit that some good points have been brought up in reviews so as a... I dunno, a peace offering of sorts before you guys have my head, I have added a special scene next chapter that will, hopefully, appease all of you who are like cussing me out right now. So before you go on a giant rant to me about the Council and how much you now hate this story because of what I did, please stick it out for one more chapter. I am hopefully going to redeem myself lol I can't give more information than this: the Council will have a trial to try and get some punishment placed on them. So again, before you flame me, just give it one more chapter. I am trying to mediate both sides :) _**

4. This one is easy- Sakura's birth control. Some of you may be confused as to how Sakura got pregnant when she said she used birth control before going on her mission with Team Seven. The explanation is simple- Sakura's mission lasted several days, of course, but when she returned home, she was off her birth control while she was in the hospital. Which was over a week- almost two weeks. The birth control was out of her system by that point, allowing her to become pregnant. :)

5. Hohime. Technically, "Fire Princess" translated into Japanese should be "Hihime", or at least that was the closest translation I could come up with using as many web resources as possible. I don't speak Japanese, so I'm not sure. But for the story's sake, and for easier translation, I used the same prefix as in Hokage. The only reason I added this little title was because I found it used in another story, though it that, it was Kazehime (the wife of the Kazekage). I thought the title was cute and I wanted it for each wife of a male Kage. :D

That was a lot of notes, and I'm sorry. I usually don't do that many anymore. Forgive meeeeeee.

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

_He swore revenge on the Council. Now, Naruto's stuck making the hard decision of what to do with him. Covering up murders, friendships strained, and family reevaluated. Everything comes full-circle. _

_**Final Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Five: Second Chance**_

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><p>I say final chapter, but honestly, it might not be. I haven't decided. :O It's supposed to be the final chapter. But we'll see.<p>

Well, thanks again for reading! :D Reviews would be a wonderful birthday gift ;D (Geez, I'm such a whore :D)  
><em><br>_


	25. Chapter 25: Second Chance

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Your reviews made my day fantastic ;D Okay, because I'm so excited about this chapter, I did a really bad job of replying to reviews for last chapter (it was either reply to reviews or post a chapter- I figured the second option was better). SO if you asked me a question last chapter and I didn't reply, just ask me again and I'll do my absolute best to give you an answer! Also, a lot of people have been asking me questions, but they either don't have a profile or forgot to log in, so it registers as "guest" so I can't exactly reply. I'll do my best at the end of this chapter to respond to the few guest reviews I got that asked me questions, but I'm not sure if I'll get them all. Okay, that's all! Read and enjoy!

Oh, and because I don't think I ever mention it, this chapter starts in late August.

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Five: <span>_Second Chance_

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><p>"They are dead."<p>

"The cause of death...?"

"Natural causes."

"Are you sure? Both dying on the same day?" His eyes narrowed.

"Yes. They died several hours apart; almost eighteen."

"...It's feels too strange to be a coincidence."

"It's natural causes."

"...I'll believe you. I trust you. ...Sasuke hasn't returned from his mission, has he?" A shake of the head. "...There is no possible way he did this?"

"Not that I could see." He rubbed his forehead, frowning.

"It's too strange," he reiterated. "I'll tell the public. Hinata-chan, begin preparing for a funeral. I'll need as many shinobi back as possible. No more assigning missions until the grieving period is over." He sighed and looked back at his head medic. "You're dismissed, Sakura-chan. Shikamaru, Kakashi, Tsunade, we'll have to send out notices to the Damiyo and the other Kages." Naruto stood up from his desk, nodded once more at Sakura, and took off down the hallway. The three on his council followed him, along with Hinata. Sakura slipped out of the office going the other way, heading home.

She practically flew to her house. Once inside, she rushed down to her laboratory, desperately searching through her medicine and poison arsenal. As she scanned over the vials and bottles, reading each label, cross-checking it with her own inventory list, she realized what she had feared was correct.

Her anger was through the roof. Clenching the list tightly in her hand, she put it away, closing the cabinet door as gently as possible.

This would be the last time she lied to Naruto to protect Sasuke. The very, absolute _last_.

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><p>This was a horrible nightmare. A completely awful nightmare. Naruto sighed, staring hard at Sakura's careful autopsy results. He had read over it several times already, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. This couldn't be a coincidence! It was set up; he knew it. His gut was telling him this was foul play.<p>

Sighing, he pushed the medical report away, pulling over another scroll. He'd have to cancel all the upcoming trials- there was no point to it all now. Right when everything was starting to come together, too. Sure, it had taken three months to get everything worked out, but justice was going to be served!

That had been the very first thing he had started on when he came into office. He had never agreed with Tsunade's decision to not persecute the Council further. It was wrong; they had committed crimes and deserved to be tried- war heroes or not! He had gotten them on the manipulation of Tsunade. That was a high treason offense, and while they might have gotten some slack since they were in the second highest positions of the village, it was still enough to put them in prison. He had been working on trying to get them convicted of mass genocide- at least of the Uchiha Clan mission. That _had _to be illegal. Or so he had thought.

Of course, that had become another nightmare. Apparently, even if he had all the proof that the Council assigned the mission to kill the Uchiha Clan, it wasn't _technically_ illegal. The Third Hokage had sanctioned it (sickeningly enough) and with the main person who had assigned the mission- Danzo- dead, it couldn't completely be blamed on the Council. Also, since there was irrefutable proof that the Uchiha Clan was planning a rebellion- a treasonous offense- the extermination was within the village's rights. Which was sick enough as it was. But then he had found out that a law- it was a _very_ old law- allowed the village to do this.

The right to kill off entire clans that so much as breathed a possibility of deceit or rebellion- that was a _law. _The First Hokage had been the one to make it, as a safeguard against the Uchiha (especially Madara Uchiha). It turned out to be used just for that purpose. Naruto had been working on eradicating that law, but it was too late in the case of the Council. That law saved them. The only gray area was the Hyuuga Clan mission.

If Naruto could prove that the Hyuuga Clan had no intentions of a rebellion (which was, again, hard to prove considering how tumultuous the clan had become during Hinata's ascension to the Clan Head title) then the Council would be in fault. But if he couldn't prove it without a shadow of a doubt, it would free the Council.

Naruto knew the case he was trying to build against the Council was rough and filled with unfairness and stupid legality. But he was getting through to the other Clan Heads and his own council. It was already in trial; he probably had a month left before there was to be a final verdict.

Groaning, he knew it no longer mattered. Justice had been served- it was now out of his hands to make things right. According to the reports, the 80-something year olds had died of natural causes. Of course they would die- this was a pretty stressful trial on everyone. They were old; too much stress could have easily caused the heart attack that killed both of them. They hadn't even made it to the end of the trial... And he had been trying so hard to get them to spend the rest of their life in prison, with their shinobi status stripped and gone.

It was too late, now. They had to, by law, get the honorable death deserving of one of their rank. Still, as Naruto glanced back over Sakura's report, the same unsettled feeling stayed in his stomach. There was just something wrong with this. He just _knew _it.

* * *

><p>He stepped in through the door, running a hand through his hair. Immediately, his eyes flickered over to where he sensed a presence. It was odd to see Sakura wait up for him.<p>

"Yes?" She calmly smoothed down her skirt, looking up at him with a blank face. However, he could feel the controlled rage seething beneath the surface.

"Koharu and Homura were pronounced dead this morning. They died eighteen hours apart from natural causes; at least, that's what the official report said." Sasuke nodded, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "I just thought you should know."

"Thanks," he replied, beginning to step away to head towards his room.

"...But you already knew that, didn't you?" Sasuke froze mid-step. "Oh, yes, you knew. After all, you were the one who killed them."

"You said yourself that they were killed by natural causes," Sasuke replied carefully. Sakura laughed.

"Of course. Because _I _was the one who made that call. You're lucky I was the examiner and not Tsunade-sama or Shizune. Because they would have seen your work. I was just covering up for you." Sakura stood up, the fury evident on her face. "But this is the absolute last time. I will not do it again. I lied to Naruto's face today, swearing that they weren't murdered. I even cleaned up the bodies to make it look like they had died a natural death." He was caught off guard when she hit him across the jaw.

"Don't you _ever_ steal from my poison cabinet again. Those drugs you gave the Council were still under tests and were not to be used on someone from our village. I could have my medical practice stripped away from me if it ever got back that the poison used to kill the Councilors was created by my own hand."

"It was supposed to be untraceable. That's what the label said," Sasuke remarked, rubbing his jaw. Sakura sighed, glaring.

"Untraceable- yes. But only if you knew how to use it. It takes a specific application of medical chakra to bring out its full potential. _And_ those drugs were still undergoing tests. I had never used them before. They _weren't _untraceable," she hissed at him, running a hand through her hair. "I had to clean out the drug usage; thankfully, it causes a heart attack so it looks like a natural cause. But it was still a pain to wipe all traces of your chakra from their system. You're so lucky. If you had been found out, you would have gone back to prison."

"It would have been worth it." Sakura outright growled in frustration and anger. "I wanted them dead, Sakura. They deserved it."

"You are impossible! You _still_ don't appreciate all the sacrifices we've made for you! Naruto has put _everything_ on the line for you and you're such an ass that you don't even realize it! Do you feel better yet? Has killing them made you happier?"

"Of course," he replied easily. "I don't regret it for a second." She took a deep breath, regaining control over her emotions.

"Good. Last time, Sasuke. I'll never do this for you again. And if you _ever_ steal from me again, I will kick you out of this house. I'm also going to tell your brother about these events." Sasuke smirked, shrugging.

"Go for it. I'm not a child anymore, Sakura. I don't care if you send Itachi to chastise me for this. If I could do it all again, I would. No hesitation." She closed her eyes in anger. He was absolutely infuriating. Now she remembered why she had hated him so passionately a few years ago. If there was one word to describe Sasuke, the perfect word would be selfish. Well, asshole, prick, and arrogant would work well, too, Sakura mused.

Sasuke was waiting to see if she would speak anymore. He shifted irritably from foot to foot, wanting to go and take a shower. He felt dirty from his last mission, and really, he did want to wash off any of the Council's remains from his body. Maybe it was psychological, but he could still _smell_ them on his body.

He had finished his mission in a rush, coming back a day early to act out his plans. He had went to Homura first. The man seemed to expect him, accepting his death easily. He offered no resistance, and as Sasuke held his blade to his throat, forcing him to swallow the pills, Homura had simply gazed at him. He had leaned down to the old man's ear, whispering, "_Now, the end is complete. Swallow your sins and suffer in silence. I have avenged my clan._" Homura said nothing but closed his eyes, dying quietly.

Sasuke had went to Koharu about half a day later (he spent the time between murders waiting in the forest outside of Konoha). She, however, was not as willing to die quietly. She cursed Sasuke with her dying breath, and even as Sasuke forced her mouth open to swallow the pills, she had spat at him. Cursed his clan, him, Orochimaru, and everything under the sun. He had wanted to hack her up into little pieces with his sword, but despite what Sakura thought, he _had_ thought of the consequences. That was why he did this as best as he could, as quietly, and on a date with no particular significance to him or his clan. He had waited over three months to kill them; every night until that moment, he had dreamed, lusted, _desired_ their deaths by his hands. He didn't want Naruto to simply lock them away- he did appreciate the thought, but it wasn't _enough_. He wanted to _taste_ their deaths, to _savor_ his vengeance.

"Naruto already made the public announcement about their deaths," Sakura finally said. "Needless to say, your promotion to ANBU will be delayed until after the appropriate grieving time ends." He nodded. He could live with being a jounin for a few more months; he didn't care how long it took. "Itachi is out on a mission with Sai and Neji."

"All of Naruto's personal guards gone?" Sasuke asked, smirking. "That isn't intelligent."

"It's a quick mission," Sakura replied. "And it needed their expertise. Now, I'm going to bed. Don't do anything stupid." He could live with her being mad at him. Really, he didn't care. Sure, he loved the woman, but his feelings weren't nearly as strong as they once were. Something inside him snapped when he realized he was going to be an uncle- and then not be an uncle- that had just diminished those burning feelings.

He loved her; he always would, he was sure. But he still had his goals to revive his clan. Obviously, Sakura was not suited for that job- at least with him. Apparently, Itachi was doing a fine job of trying to get her knocked up. He needed to find another girl to bear strong children. No one really came to mind (he had thought about Ino, but he knew the blonde would not be receptive to him in that sense. He had heard enough about her reputation to know that she wouldn't think twice about cheating on him. Anyways, she was a bit too headstrong for his tastes) but he would worry more about that in the months to come.

"Good night, Sakura." She nodded once, still upset with him. He shrugged, watching her walk up the stairs. No matter what Naruto, Itachi, or Sakura did for him, he would not forget his own goals and his clan. He had vowed revenge and had achieved it. The feeling inside of him was light and he realized that he couldn't care less as to what would happen in the upcoming months. It simply didn't matter to him any longer. His duty was finished. His clan could rest in peace.

* * *

><p>When she was angry, she worked herself to the brink. That was how she had learned to deal with her emotions. Anger, grief, frustration... all of it was better channeled into her healing. After the death of her child, when she was finally allowed back into the hospital, she had collapsed way too many times on the way home from the hospital due to exhaustion. Healing helped her cope with the loss, helped her deal with her emotions one at a time.<p>

She wasn't over the loss in any sort of way (there were those days that she would see a mother birthing a new child, or a stillborn delivered, or even the rough times that she would have to tell an expecting mother that they had miscarried and was no longer pregnant, that made her sob her guts out in her office/bedroom/Itachi's arms) but she had learned how to cope with it the best she could. It had taken what felt like a long time, too. But it was finally getting better.

Sakura knew, though, that she was still pushing herself to the edge with her healing. Even with Shizune and Tsunade to help her at the hospital, she still threw herself into the work. And now with Sasuke's actions, Sakura was furious and wanted to heal even more.

"There is an emergency! A group of three ANBU just returned home with fatal wounds!" A nurse exclaimed, throwing open the break room door. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura stood up without a word. All three rushed as fast as they could to the operating room. A pang of fear seized her heart as she wondered if it was Itachi and his two teammates that were injured. Then she quickly shoved that thought away, knowing she would have sensed his injuries long before.

Besides, it was rare when Itachi ever got hurt. He was too strong and there were few enemies left in the shinobi world that could leave a mark on him. No, these had to be different ANBU. At least, though, Tsunade and Shizune were both working this day. It would have been hell trying to heal all three in rapid succession.

Tsunade took the first nin, Sakura took the second, and Shizune the third. Each had their own team of nurses to command, and they all worked quickly. Their authoritative voices ushered complete obedience from their trained staff and it didn't take nearly as long as usual to heal the three.

"Give me the roll of bandages and I'll wrap his torso. Make sure you hook him up to the IV as soon as I finish. I want him to remain asleep; when the pain medication wears off, he'll be feeling it." Sakura finished wrapping the bandages around the man and gestured for a clipboard with the man's charts on it. It took her a few seconds to write down the procedures for the nurses to follow and how much medicine he was supposed to have, but soon enough, she was finished with him. "Off to a room to rest. Careful now, don't jar the bed when you go. If that wound rips open, I'll have your heads on a platter!"

"Hah, I have trained you well!" Tsunade remarked, slamming a hand down on her pupil's shoulder. She looked gleeful at how her pupil had sparked fear into the nurses with her threats. Shizune smiled, coming up behind them. "Speaking of training, we have to work on that training schedule for the new nurses. We just hired a bunch from the civilian section and even more from the shinobi section. We have our work cut out for us." Sakura nodded, removing her latex gloves, disposing of them. The three walked out of the emergency room, heading for Tsunade's office. Now that Shizune and Tsunade had joined Sakura at the hospital, all three shared joint-ownership of the building in running and directing it. Shizune and Tsunade had also received their own offices to rival Sakura. They all settled down into chairs around Tsunade's desk.

"Also, Sakura, I'd like to restart that training," Tsunade continued. "I gave you over a three month break. I think we can pick up where we left off. I'd like to see how much you've progressed with the healing jutsu." Sakura nodded, balancing a pencil on her nose. "I'm thinking we train three times a week?"

"Sounds fine with me. What days?"

"Wednesday, Friday, Sunday." Sakura made a small sound of disagreement.

"Mm, I can't do Friday. Team Seven practice in the morning and genin team training the rest of the day. Saturday is genin day again, too."

"Fine. Tuesday?"

"That's peachy with me!" Letting the pencil fall from her nose, she picked up the nurses list on Tsunade's desk. "So, I say we divide these lists up so we can each take a group to train. Ino and some of the other advanced nursing staff can be called into train. That way, we have seven trainers- one for each day." Grabbing a highlighter, Sakura began to divide up the nursing staff.

"So, how are those genin of yours?" Shizune asked her lightly, grabbing her own sheet to divide up. Sakura laughed airily, picking up another sheet to mark.

"Oh, they're genin. That's the best way I can describe it. Fuuka, the girl, has really fallen into her niche with ninjutsu. She's really talented with elemental jutsus, surprisingly. I believe she might have an affinity towards electric type jutsu, so Sasuke and I have been talking about teaching her the Chidori. However, unlike the other two, she has no skill for medical ninjutsu. Not even the basic stuff. She's got a bit of an attitude, too. She reminds me of a younger Sasuke, in a way."

"It must be fun to beat on her then," Tsunade remarked, signing her name on some sort of document approving funding for the hospital.

"It sure is! Hideyo, the cute boy, has really mellowed out. I originally expected him to be a snob, 'cause he was cute, but he's actually very polite and kind. Probably my favorite out of the bunch. He's also the most like me. Good in genjutsu and he's really gotten good at medical ninjutsu. He has really good chakra control, too."

"Are you thinking he might be a good candidate as a pupil of yours? To pass down the Yin-Seal: Rebirth technique?" Sakura shrugged to Tsunade's question.

"I don't think he's as good as I was at that age, but in a few years, he'll be a better medical ninja than Ino, I'd say. I think he's probably the best for his generation. He's also a good candidate to train with the chakra-enhanced strength."

"And the last one?" Shizune asked.

"Akihiko is still trying to find his way. He's skilled in taijutsu- very skilled. He's also good with basic medical ninjutsu, basic ninjutsu, and basic genjutsu. He's the most well-rounded, but besides his taijutsu, nothing really sticks out too much yet. He'll be a talented shinobi, though. I think he could be the most apt to go into ANBU when he's older, if he increases his other basic skills. He has the most potential out of the group."

"Sounds like a promising bunch," Tsunade remarked absentmindedly. "How's Sasuke handling it?" There was an automatic glower that crossed Sakura's face. Both women looked up, noting her soured look. "Hm, trouble in paradise?" She simply glared down at the paper.

"I don't want to talk about him right now. We're fighting." Sakura raised her head up, mulling over Tsunade's choice of words. "And it's really never been paradise with Sasuke. You're thinking of Itachi. Speaking of which, you cleverly avoided that nasty Uchiha Massacre slip-up I did. Didn't anyone ask about it?" Tsunade groaned in response, placing down her work to give Sakura her full attention.

"Yes, what a slip-up that was. Biggest pain in the ass to cover up, ever. I had a lot of people petition to know what the hell you were talking about. I smoothed it over, though. Said that it was under investigation; that there might have been some truth into what you said, but nothing is clear as of yet. It worked well enough to stop the interest. Did Itachi get mad at what you said?" Sakura shrugged, shaking her head.

"No, I expected him to. But he... I think he was more concerned about the baby." There was a wince on Tsunade's part. Sakura knew that it was still a sore spot for both of them. Tsunade had never talked about it, but Sakura could tell it had deeply devastated her mentor as to what had occurred. Sakura had never once blamed Tsunade- she couldn't, even when she wanted to be angry at someone other than herself, she could never shove the blame on Tsunade- but Tsunade had accepted a false responsibility for the death. It had been a tragic accident, though, and there was nothing more that could be done. "We never really discussed that day afterward. We sort of just decided to let all the pieces fall where they needed to. By that point, we really wanted to be done with the entire ordeal and just break away from everything. It's never been worth bringing up to him, or apologizing about it, since the damage is already done. Itachi knows I never meant any ill-will towards his clan or anything like that. It was an accident; I'm glad he's understanding about it, too."

Shizune tapped her pen against the desk, looking at Sakura pensively. Sakura raised an eyebrow, waiting for Shizune to speak whatever was on her mind. Her face was serious and whatever she was going to bring up did not look pleasant.

"Sakura... I know this isn't going to be a good conversation. For you or Tsunade-sama, but we need to discuss something. I know you were checked by Tsunade-sama after the damage was done, and I know you've checked yourself, and I'm sure you've had Ino check your body for a second opinion, and everything is fine internally, correct?" Sakura nodded, ghosting her hand across her stomach. "But... we need to discuss the possibility of having complications with child bearing. And also..."

Everyone had placed their work down, focusing on Shizune. Sakura tilted her head saying, "Yes?" Shizune continued to hesitate, biting her lip. "Shizune?"

"Well, about the identity of Itachi... Not very many people know the truth about Itachi and Arata, right? They know you're dating Arata, so if you have another child by him, well, the baby will be expected to be Arata's. But in a few years, assuming the truth about Itachi is never revealed to the village, the child will activate a Sharingan. He'll have to be trained like an Uchiha. Parents will talk; when he goes to the Academy, children will repeat what their parents have said to the child. What are you going to do to explain the situation to your child? If you tell the child the truth, then it's sure to be repeated. But if you don't, the child will be bullied and teased." Sakura frowned, having never considered the thought before. "And, automatically, the child will be assumed to be Sasuke's love child."

"...Right. Yes, you're right. I never even... I don't know what to do. I'll talk to Itachi about it." The other two nodded. "At the moment, though, we're not planning on having children any time soon. It's too... too soon."

"Remember to take your birth control, then," Tsunade sternly reminded her. Sakura gave a pained expression, nodding. The three lapsed back into silence, continuing with their work. Finally after three months, everything had calmed down. They were falling back into their regular patterns, their routines, and nothing could really shake that up.

* * *

><p>He frowned, staring into the tea cup. His two companions seemed to notice his pensive mood. Neji was the one to raise his head up and ask what was wrong, though. It took him a few minutes to respond as he twirled the liquid around in the porcelain cup.<p>

"It's Sasuke," Itachi finally replied, taking a small sip of the tea. Shikamaru let out a loud sigh from beside him. He knew that both males were exasperated with Sasuke's attitude- Itachi was just as sick of it as well. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was the long letter Sakura had left for him on their pillow that morning. He had gotten in late from his most recent mission, and so she was kind enough to let him sleep in. When he woke up, though, and found the paper left on her side of the bed addressed for him, he was upset, as expected. Why wouldn't he have been? His brother had murdered two people in the village and Sakura had risked her entire career to cover for him. But he wasn't sure what to do with the information. He was bothered immensely by it, but he didn't want to get Sakura or Sasuke in trouble.

_"Do what you will with this information. I want nothing more to do with it." _That was the final thing she had put in the letter. He knew she was extremely frustrated with Sasuke. There was a strong resentment growing from her towards his little brother. He didn't want the woman he loved to hate the little boy he had always loved and protected. Who he always _would_ love and protect.

Neji nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Itachi glanced up at the Hyuuga, knowing he couldn't exactly confide into him, but knowing he needed to do something to release the tension steadily growing in him.

Thankfully, Neji seemed to understand this sentiment. Rising to his feet, he extended a hand to Itachi. Shikamaru lazily opened an eye, watching the two. Itachi placed the cup aside, gripping Neji's hand as the man politely helped him to his feet.

"Let's spar. Shikamaru, you in?" The newest Council member groaned, waving a hand in dismissal. "Figured as much. After this, we'll play a game of shogi." He gave a thumbs up, falling back asleep.

The spar was more intense than usual. But it was the perfect way to release his pent up energy. Not just about Sasuke, but about everything. Things hadn't been smooth with Sakura since the death of their child. It had strained their relationship in ways neither wanted to speak about.

The most prominent way was the fact that for a long while- almost two and a half months- Sakura wouldn't let him touch her. He understood, of course, and gave her as much time as she needed. She had experienced a life-altering event and he would never try to rush the healing (mental and physical) time she needed. Having been through his own life-shattering events, he knew that there was a process to go through. The death of his clan had left him more callous than he was proud to admit- it was the reason his child's death didn't effect him as adversely as it had Sakura.

Not saying that he wasn't devastated. Because he _was_. Itachi had always had a desire to be a father; he had accepted the fact that he would never be one, but he couldn't deny that he had wanted to. When Sakura had given him the opportunity, he realized that he wanted a child. He would have been perfectly happy raising a baby with her. Itachi could not picture his life without the pinkette. If he ever imagined a woman raising his children, she would be his first pick; his only pick. He _wanted_ her in his life for all eternity. Coming home to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, swinging their child into the air as a greeting, kissing her on the cheek... He wanted that type of family life.

At the moment, though, they were both trying to work through their own problems with the relationship. In the very beginning of their relationship, he had been the one to move incredibly slow. After kissing her, he didn't officially begin dating her for over three months. He took his time. But now, now it was Sakura taking her time. When she had finally warmed back up to his touch, he was gentle with her. More so than he had ever been before.

That night that she had finally, blushingly, allowed him to touch her again, she had acted different. She had acted like a shy virgin, as if they had never had sex before. She was embarrassed, covering her breasts, then wouldn't meet his eyes when he pried her arms away, and would bite her lip to keep from moaning loudly. He didn't mind though. He understood because this was a different Sakura- she had to get used to everything again. He was tender, sweet, caring. He wanted her to warm up to his touch.

Only two weeks later, they did not participate in their amorous activities as much as they once had. Since then, only one other time had they had sex. It wasn't that it bothered him- he wasn't a sex fiend, after all. If anything, she initiated it more than he. What bothered him was her distance. He had never measured the intensity of their relationship with sex; had never equated how much she loved him with how much sex they had. But in the recent weeks, he had realized that sex had become a way to express their feelings towards one another. They weren't very vocal people with their emotions. Well, Sakura was quick to say, "I love you," or any other expressions of endearment; but they expressed themselves better through actions. If she was angry, she hit. If she was sad, she cried. If she was happy, she smiled. If she was feeling passionate or exceptionally happy with him, they had sex.

He had no doubt that Sakura still loved him. But he did have doubts with how happy she was. She had lost her passion, her emotional side. Of course, she was depressed. He knew that. He also knew that he had no idea what to do to fix it, though. It was a long healing process and he was willing to give Sakura as much time and space as she needed. If there was one person who understood the need to heal, it was him. He had been in a similar situation when he had killed his clan.

Itachi spun out of the way of Neji's fist, dropping to the ground, tensed. He was ready to strike. Neji held up a hand, taking a deep breath. "Feel better, yet?" he asked, as Itachi stood, loosening his muscles. He was surprised to realize that, yes, he most assuredly felt better. "Figured that was what you needed. And whatever is wrong with Sasuke, why don't you just bring it up to Naruto? He's always been a good influence on him." He might as well. Naruto would work with them to keep Sakura and Sasuke from being punished. He would have to trust the blonde- hadn't he always trusted the blonde, though? Even back from his previous life, he knew to leave his brother in Naruto's care. Naruto had yet to fail him.

"That's exactly what I'll do, then. Now, ready for Shogi?" Smirking, Itachi nudged Shikamaru's side with his foot. The man in question groaned, sitting up. "It's time for me to beat you again." That got a glint in the lazy man's tired eyes.

"You can try," Shikamaru responded. Neji grinned and walked away to get more tea. It would be a long match.

* * *

><p>"Hinata-chan, what do I... do?" She placed her hands on her husband's shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. "I can't... This is..." His hands trembled with the scroll in them. Itachi's perfect handwriting glared up at them, almost mockingly. Naruto groaned, swiping an arm across his eyes. She was sure it was to wipe away tears of frustration.<p>

He had a difficult decision to make- one of the worst. His best friend had murdered two of the most highly respected shinobi in the village- two very old, defenseless shinobi- and while Naruto agreed that they deserved it, he wasn't sure what he could do. Did Sasuke deserve the punishment? What about Sakura, for lying to him? But in the end, didn't the Councilors deserve to die for what they did to Itachi and Sasuke?

Naruto groaned, laying his head down on his desk, pillowed by his arms. It was too late for this, but he needed to make this decision on his own. No Shikamaru or Kakashi on his side. This was something he wanted to keep as quiet as possible. He wanted only Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, and Itachi to know the truth. No more, no less.

"Hinata... I..." He lifted his head, sitting rigidly, staring off into the distance. "Justice. What is right in this case? Is it right to take the lives of those two? When they were trying to protect the village in their own, distorted way? Was Sasuke wrong by enacting his revenge? Does he have that right to kill them? The law would tell me no; by all rights, Sasuke should be imprisoned as a criminal, as a murderer. This time, he will be executed; no amount of pleading would stop that. Then isn't that just another life uselessly going to waste? For what? Revenge? Justice?" He lifted his hand, staring at the palm. He clenched it, closing his eyes.

"What is right in this case? Hasn't this all been messed up from the very beginning? Back before any of us? When will any of this become right? I want to sweep this all away, all of it placed on a far library shelf never to be seen again. I want this entire nightmare to collect dust and never be revisited. Shouldn't it be enough, now? Everyone involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre is dead- except Itachi and Sasuke, the two biggest victims of the entire mess. The village was the one to take everything away from them. Isn't it our duty to make it right; isn't it _my _duty to make it right? The two have finally been given the chance to live a happy life. They have been given the opportunity to make lives for themselves, ones that won't be torn apart by war and rebellion. Wouldn't I be just as big of a monster as Danzo and the previous Council if I were to imprison Sasuke and press charges for this?"

"Naruto," Hinata began, lowering her voice. He turned to look at his wife, while she knelt down before him, gazing up into his eyes. "I fell in love with you not only for your never-ending, unbreakable will and strength, but because you followed your heart, consequences be damned. You always did what was right; not what people wanted to be done, but what you knew was honorable. You've always been true to yourself, true to your heart. What is your heart telling you right now? Hokage duties aside. Village duties aside. What is your heart, your gut, telling _you, _Naruto, the number-one knuckle-headed ninja, to do in this situation?" He reached out, lifting a strand of her hair between his fingers.

"...It's telling me that I shouldn't do anything. I should let it go. No, it's telling me that I should talk to Sasuke privately and tell him that this is the last thing he is allowed to do for his asinine quest for revenge. That he should be done now. And if he is, and he's willing to settle peacefully into the village, then I'll overlook this event. That I'll keep with Sakura's report and that the Council will be given honorable deaths with natural causes as their listed death. That's what my heart is telling me... telling me that is right to do." Hinata smiled, rising up to press a kiss to his mouth.

"Then do that, no doubting yourself. You, me, and our child will need you to always follow your heart." He shifted his eyes up to her, the azure orbs wide.

"...Child...?" She smiled, stroking his hair.

"Yes. Sakura confirmed it this morning. We're going to have a baby, Naruto." His smile was radiant as he swept her up into his arms, kissing her hard on the lips.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan. Thank you."

* * *

><p>"I'm done, Naruto. My only goal now is to find a wife and restore my clan." Naruto kept his hands folded underneath his chin, nodding.<p>

"Then I'll let this slide, Sasuke. My only free pass to you, though. Got it, bastard?" Sasuke smirked, nodding.

"Of course, dead last. Anything else?"

"Yeah, two things. One, I know you've been asking about ANBU promotions, but technically, I can't promote you without a meeting with the other Kages. It's stuff to do with you being a past international criminal and all. So I'm in the process of getting that cleared up and evaluating you and all that jazz. I know you want to be on my personal guard with your brother, Neji, and Sai. It's just a work in process." Sasuke looked irritated by that fact, but he nodded, voicing no protests.

"And second?"

"Well, I'd actually like to get your brother on board with this. So what do you think? I think I'm going to reveal the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre to the village- omitting parts that would tarnish the Uchiha name, of course- and clear Itachi Uchiha of all treasonous charges. This way, if he'd ever like to reveal his true self to the public, he'd have the perfect foothold to step into. He can do it after the public warms up to the idea."

"I'm on board," Sasuke immediately replied. "I'll bring it up to Sakura since I know she's been gently pushing him to do something like this. Then we'll both hit Itachi up about it." Naruto grinned, nodding.

"Perfect! I love hearing good things like that. Makes this job easier. Oh, also, I have to speak to you about the Uchiha Compound. For one, I think it's about time you get the hell out of Sakura-chan's house. Haven't you been living there long enough, bastard? The poor girl has put up with you long enough, don't you think? It's almost been like a year. The entire Uchiha Compound is yours- and Itachi's, of course- as well as the funds, which were frozen upon their deaths. Furthermore, until your brother reclaims his identity, you're the technical Uchiha Head so you've gotta be present in all the official Konoha Council meetings. Which now include all four Noble Clan Heads, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, Shikamaru, me, Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan, Shikaku Nara, and my three personal guards. We've expanded the number of people who can vote on important issues so that it's more balanced and we get more input. I, of course, still have final say on everything. We're also trying to integrate a few more Noble Clans into the Konoha Four. I'm really working hard on the Yamanaka, Nara, and Inuzuka. But we'll see on that. Anyways, make sure you move out soon and into the Compound." Sasuke scowled, hating to be told what to do.

"Bastard, listen up! They're going to need that spare room eventually for when they have kids. I know after that... incident... it might not be the first thing on your brother's mind to be a father, but seeing as my own wife is pregnant now, it happens. You gotta let them have their space, you know? You've always been the third wheel on their relationship." He was waving his index finger in front of Sasuke's face. Sasuke glared, slapping the finger away.

"Thanks, dobe," Sasuke deadpanned, his glare increasing. Naruto shrugged, never being one to candy-coat his words. Especially to Sasuke. "Fine, fine, I'll start refurbishing the Compound and work on moving in there shortly. Okay?"

"Yes! Very good, believe it!" Sasuke sighed irritably, running a hand through his hair.

"...So, a father, huh?" That got a giant grin from Naruto. "I'm surprised you haven't shouted it from the rooftops yet." Naruto snickered.

"Just wait until my lunch break. Because I plan on it. Heeheehee!"

* * *

><p>Sakura kicked the door closed behind her. Her eyes zeroed in on the couch and she dragged herself to it, collapsing. She didn't even care about taking off her sandals. The blood had stained her clothes and she hoped none of it was still wet. Even her hands had traces of the red- underneath her fingernails, between her fingers, some rough spots still on her palms. She really hadn't done a good job with scrubbing her hands clean. But working for two days straight tended to wear her out.<p>

Itachi was coming down the stairs, dutifully coming to collect her and clean her up. He scooped her up, smiling down at her tired eyes. There was something comforting in the fact that Itachi still came down to help her after she worked herself to the bone. Ever since she had revived him, over a year and a half ago, he had been kind enough to do this for her. Even after everything that had happened since his revival, their routines were still going strong.

They were at the bathroom now. Unlike before, where Itachi would simply wash out the blood in her hair and off her body, now Itachi actually undressed her and bathed her. After they had begun dating and were comfortable with each other's bodies, there was no embarrassment from him with washing her anymore. His hands were gentle as he scrubbed the blood and grime away.

Since Sasuke had suddenly moved out of their house, settling into the Uchiha Compound, the two had been able to be more free with each other and their relationship. They didn't have sex as much as they used to, but Sakura had finally come out of her shy form that she had fallen into after the death of her child.

It was already October. The deaths of the previous Council had settled down within the village. Soon after the funerals, Sasuke had begun to rebuild and decorate the Uchiha Compound. By the middle of September, Sasuke had moved out of their house, claiming he had stayed long enough. It was fine, though, because Sasuke and Itachi still had plenty of time to see each other and spend time together. They no longer needed to live in the same house to keep their bond strong.

Sasuke had also regained full usage of his Sharingan. Sakura, Shizune, and Tsunade had been the ones to operate on him and it had been a nerve-wracking, tedious procedure. But it worked. He even retained his Eternal Sharingan form. He was using it now more than ever.

Of course, it didn't help his rank cap. Apparently, Naruto couldn't get the other Kages to approve Sasuke's promotion to ANBU. Which didn't really matter in the end; Sasuke was still under punishment to be a jounin sensei, so even if he had made it into ANBU, he was still stuck with his jounin duties. Though nowadays, Sakura and Sasuke rarely trained with their team together. Usually only one of them spent time with the genins, and then rotated for the next day. They were simply too busy for both of them to constantly be together. Their genins didn't seem to mind, though. They were able to train them together only on Fridays; the other days of the week varied.

At least Sakura had tentatively made up with Sasuke. Their relationship wasn't as close as it once was, but it was a steady work in progress. It had helped when Sasuke had gotten a girlfriend- surprisingly enough, it was Hideyo's older sister. That had shocked Sakura, considering Hideyo's sister was only a chuunin. If Sasuke was going to date a shinobi, she had expected him to go after one of Akihiko's older siblings, who were all jounin or ANBU.

However, she supposed it made sense for Sasuke to want a woman with a lower rank. She knew he was after marriage and babies. A woman with a lower rank would be more likely to stay at home and give up her ninja career, compared to someone who had worked long and hard to be in ANBU or to become a jounin. He wanted someone submissive, willing to bow to him and have his babies.

Which was _wrong_ in her opinion, especially because the last time she heard, Sasuke still loved _her_, but Sakura had decided she was done butting into Sasuke's life. Hideyo's sister (she believed her name was Mei) would have to learn the hard way. She was only nineteen, which wasn't too much younger than Sasuke's age of twenty-four (only five years; the exact same age difference between herself and Itachi). But she was still young compared to Sasuke. She hadn't fought in the Fourth War, after all. She had only been twelve at the time and still in the Academy. But maybe Sasuke was attracted to her innocence. Either way, the girlfriend mellowed out some of his douche-bag qualities, which made him more tolerable in Sakura's eyes.

"We used the organ regeneration technique tonight. The one that I created and used on you," Sakura told Itachi, the water having woken her up slightly. He nodded, smiling softly. "It was successful, finally. It took all three of us to do it; after all, when I did it on you, it took me days to regenerate a complete organ. But with the three of us, it went a lot faster. A lot of the top medics, like Ino, were there to watch."

"I am glad it was successful, then," Itachi told her, drawing the washcloth across her face. She giggled, leaning back against his chest. "You are clean now. Let me get you out." She shook her head, still prideful enough to stand on her own. He allowed her to stand, keeping his hands on her hips to balance her.

"I can walk back," Sakura muttered, taking the towel he offered her. She smiled as he dried her off quickly, placing the towel over the rack to dry. "No need to carry me." She shakily began to walk towards their bedroom, Itachi keeping a gentle grip on her arm.

"You know I don't mind," he told her. She smiled up at him, nodding. "Are the organ regeneration techniques the only thing you were able to salvage from your revival jutsu?" Sakura's eyes were more alert; apparently she had almost completely woken up. She sighed, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head.

"We're still working on taking a bunch of different pieces from the jutsu. Tsunade and Shizune and I all believe that all of my prep work on your body can be taught to the medics as advanced healing jutsus. Which is, obviously, a gigantic positive. However the part for which the jutsu is named for- the _reviving_ part- seems to be a big flop. Yet... I still have the hope that just maybe... maybe I'll get the chance to use it again and it'll be successful."

"How can that be?" Itachi asked her softly, as he helped her dress into her sleeping clothes. Sakura frowned, trying to put her thoughts into words.

"Well, I can still revive anything less than a human. So there was at least something I did right. But... I mean, I worked so hard on the seals and the chakra conversions, that there must be a way to revive people without sacrificing someone else. I'll be honest, I've been pouring over my work, trying to look for kinks. I have a hunch... it's just a guess, nothing more, but I think that if I have several accomplished medics perform the jutsu with me, the success rate will rise. The scrolls are still perfect and everything."

"And then the part about them being bound to all of the healers' bodies?" She winced, obviously forgetting that fact. "We'll work on it," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder, steering her towards the bed. She smiled at the "we" and his willingness to help her. As they both laid down in bed, Sakura instantly cuddling up to him, she hmmed in thought. He waited for her to speak.

"When we originally began this... this _thing_, this experiment, I asked you to live with me until I had finished evaluating you and your body. I know this might be silly to ask, but technically, I think the experiment has ended. So did you still... still want to stay here?" Itachi rarely laughed, but she could feel it in his chest as it rumbled upwards and out. His laugh was rich and soft, much like him, but it was a pleasing sound.

"I've had no plans to move elsewhere," he finally told her, nuzzling his nose into her neck. She grinned, kissing his cheek. "Apparently, this experiment of yours has gone a bit different than you predicted. You're stuck with me now." She laughed, closing her eyes as she curled closer to him.

"That, I think, was the most desirable outcome of this absolutely insane experiment."

"Insane, Sakura, is an understatement."

* * *

><p>It was October 15th. Everyone in the village was gathered around the Hokage Tower, waiting for Naruto to make whatever announcement it was. Behind him stood his most trusted advisers- Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Hinata, and as a special guest, Sasuke stood brooding to the side. Everyone else remained below, looking up and waiting.<p>

It had taken her and Sasuke quite some time to get Itachi to warm up to the idea. But after pleading their case, swearing that the Uchiha name would not be marred, Itachi finally agreed. Now it was the moment that Sakura had been dreaming of ever since she had found the horrible scroll in that dark, dark room over two years ago. The scroll that had altered her life considerably, the one that had made her go through with her crazy-ridiculous plan to revive someone, the one that had made her choose Itachi Uchiha as her revival subject. Itachi's name would finally, _finally_, be cleared.

Naruto cleared his throat, stepping forward. Everyone fell silent. Sakura squeezed Itachi's hand tightly, glad he was excused from his ANBU guard duty for this.

"In May, when Sakura Haruno was to be unjustly executed, she revealed many crimes that turned out to be true. However, one crime that she accused the now deceased ex-Council of committing was the Uchiha Clan Massacre. We've had many inquiries as to the status of this accusation- and for the past five months, we've been investigating the truth of it. Today, I am here to reveal the results of that investigation to you and to clear an innocent shinobi's name." Sakura wasn't sure she had ever seen her best friend look so serious. He was resembling the Fourth Hokage more and more every day.

"Sakura's accusations were true. Danzo Shimura, Hiruzen Sarutobi- the honorable Third Hokage- and Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado did, in fact, assign Itachi Uchiha to massacre his clan. Danzo was the one to officially give him the mission, though the Third Hokage eventually endorsed it. The leadership of Konoha believed it was necessary to exterminate the Uchiha Clan under the idea that they were planning a rebellion against Konoha. However, to our records, we have never found any proof that the Uchiha Clan had entered into diplomatic discussions with the leadership, which is the appropriate course of action for any sort of belligerent behavior in the village. Thus, we are led to believe that the leadership acted hastily without any proper procedures followed, as well as the idea that they were exterminating the Uchiha Clan due to long-held prejudice and rivalries." There were gasps from the crowd; most of the shinobi and villagers alike look disturbed at these turn of events. After all, none could believe that the Third Hokage would have assigned such a deplorable mission.

"Itachi, being told that his family would overthrow Konoha, cause a civil war, and then lead to a Fourth Shinobi World War, accepted his mission; in part because he was a scared, young shinobi who feared another violent war, and in part because he wanted to protect his little brother. He knew that if he didn't kill his clan, some other shinobi would- one who would not spare Sasuke. So Itachi enacted the orders given to him, following his mission perfectly. To protect his brother from the grim truth about the village, Itachi made himself out to be the villain and fled the village as a missing-nin. He became a spy in the organization Akatsuki, constantly watching out for my own welfare, protecting the village from afar, monitoring Orochimaru's actions, and trying to protect Sasuke to the best of his ability without blowing his cover. Even upon his death, and revival in the Fourth Shinobi World War, he continued to fight for Konoha. He saved my life and helped me fight against the revived Nagato, and then went on to defeat Kabuto and end the Impure World Reincarnation technique. He saved many, many people's lives at the cost of his own." Naruto wiped a hand over his brow, shaking his head.

"Itachi Uchiha is a true shinobi. And I want to clear up this view that he was a deranged, psychopathic killer out to destroy his brother and his clan. He wasn't. He was a loyal shinobi to the very end of his life and should be honored as such." Hinata walked forward, whispering something into his ear. Naruto nodded, his eyes lighting up at whatever she reminded him of.

"There is one more thing that I should explain about this situation- about how Sakura found out the truth, and who else knew. The Masked Man- Tobi, Madara, whatever you want to call him- of the Fourth War informed several of us the truth about Itachi. He told myself, Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke the truth, and when I fought with Itachi, he confirmed it as the truth. Meaning, that yes, I knew the truth of this situation for quite some time. However, before Itachi died for the second time, he asked me to keep this a secret and to never reveal the truth to the village- in fear it would besmirch his clan's name. Well, after careful discussions with Sasuke about the wishes of his brother, we both decided it would be the best to reveal the truth to the village. That is why it took so long to confirm this. But I full-heartedly believe that; One: the past leadership of the village made a grave mistake by ordering the murder of the Uchiha Clan- who wrongly deserved their punishment. They were not traitors. And two: if Itachi were alive today, he would approve of our decision. Thus, with that, I thank you for your time and that is all I wish to say. Have a good evening!" He gave his signature grin and applause began, exploding for him. He was a very well-loved Hokage.

Smiling, Sakura squeezed Itachi's hand, looking up at him. His face was unreadable, a perfect mask, so she waited for him to say what he was feeling. But after he continued to look off into space, she decided to ask him. "So, was he right? Would Itachi Uchiha approve of that speech?" Her voice seemed to snap him into the world again- which was odd, since Itachi never spaced out- and he smiled gently at her.

"I would say... he appreciates how Naruto handled the speech and for what he is attempting to do. However, it will take a long time to get used to."

"I can handle that," Sakura replied. "No... _we_ can handle that." Itachi raised an eyebrow at her switch to plurality. Sakura rested a hand on her stomach as a response.

"No..." She blushed, nodding.

"I didn't expect it. It's much too soon, I thought. But now, after today, it doesn't bother me. You've had more past sins to deal with and accept than I have; and if you can do it, then so can I. I found out this morning." His eyes, which had first been shocked, slowly melted into a loving warmth unlike no other she had seen.

"You're right. It comes at a perfect time. It probably is much too soon since our last... _event_, but it's okay. We all get a new beginning now." She was thrilled that he wasn't angry with her; she was even more thrilled when he leaned down and pulled her into a long, passionate kiss. "I'm happy to be able to experience being a parent with you."

"I would want no one else," she whispered back. The two shared one more short kiss, holding hands as they began their trek home.

"One question, though, Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"How did you even get pregnant in the first place? You told me that you were going to keep on your birth control regularly now."

Blushingly, she replied, "I forgot again. I'm awful at taking that stuff."

* * *

><p><em>By using chakra to speed up the rebirth of cells, a person can gain a form of "immortality". By applying this same concept to a person who has been killed in battle, it may be possible to revive them by repairing all the old, damaged cells, and replacing them with live cells that are able to reproduce. By applying enough chakra to stimulate the cells into a regular rebirth cycle, these new cells can live without the aid of constant chakra. Eventually, the deceased should be able to revive themselves, assuming everything is healed up and their cells can reproduce and function normally. <em>

_However, the problem remains with getting the person to revive. By applying part of a healer's own life-force to the deceased body that has working cells, it should be possible to revive them. By slightly reviving them, it would be possible to restore brain function, thus allowing the person to live on their own. _

_This jutsu would take considerable amounts of chakra and a long prep period, thus meaning the deceased person could not be allowed to decompose. The prep period would probably take months, as well as storing enough chakra needed. Each cell must be functioning in the person before life-force can be transferred, as if the person cannot revive, without minimal life-force, the healer would die. There is also a large risk of chakra depletion that goes along with the transferring of life-force energy. _

_The chakra depletion can be compensated by the use of chakra storing seals- Yin-Seals- to give sporadic bursts of chakra when needed, instead of one Yin-Seal that would quickly drain out. As for transferring of life-force energy- it is not so much a separate energy, as it is a certain type of chakra. How to accurately pull out this life-force chakra, though, is still a mystery. With trial and error and several different transformation seals, it might be possible to convert regular chakra into this; however, it still proves to be difficult and riddled with flukes. How Chiyo was able to use her own life-force is still a mystery. _

_In the end, even with several scrolls, seals, and plenty of chakra, the success of this jutsu is still pending. It was used on one human and succeeded; however, the circumstances were estranged and further testing must be done. It does not appear that this jutsu will succeed a second time._

_Yet, instead of scrapping it, there is still hope. This may pave the way to an actual revival jutsu. Even if it cannot revive the dead, it is a sure-way to bring back someone who is on the verge of death. It can be classified as an extremely powerful medical ninjutsu. _

_In conclusion, the jutsu has no conclusive evidence of failing or succeeding. It can only be tried again and the results re-examined to be determined whether or not it's a failure. However, in my own opinion, even if it is a failure as a perfect non-sacrificial revival jutsu, it is a success as a powerful medical ninjutsu. This can only be used as a building block for better and stronger jutsu. Therefore, I have no regrets with what I've created._

Sakura smiled, rolling up her scroll. She would show it to Tsunade later and have the woman evaluate the revival jutsu again. Her Life Rebirth Jutsu was as complete as she could make it and Sakura was okay with that.

Smiling up at her boyfriend, and resting a hand on her flat stomach (which was containing the life of their child) she realized that no matter which way she looked at it, her jutsu had been a success. She had revived at least one person and that person was the one man who deserved it the most. If she could offer him the second chance at life he rightfully deserved, giving him as much happiness as she could, then it no longer mattered if her jutsu could revive anyone else.

He kissed her cheek, murmuring for her to come upstairs for dinner. She smiled and nodded, following him up the stairs.

It didn't matter what else happened with her jutsu, because she was pleased with this result. She had given Itachi a second chance, a new beginning- no, she had given all of them a new beginning with her jutsu. And, in the end, that made all her hard work and struggles worth it. In her eyes, it was an absolute _success._

* * *

><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

_**~End~  
><strong>_

_**XxX**_

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><p>...It says end, but is it really? :) The answer to that question is <strong>no<strong>. We're not finished yet. Ohhhh, we've hardly scratched the surface. No, you see, this is simply the end of...

**_PART I. _**

That's right. After an excruciating time to trying to decide whether or not to make a a sequel/trilogy/etc, or simply continue on with this story (and believe me, it was not an easy decision. I had already finished this chapter and still didn't know what to do. I would toss and turn at night trying to figure out how I wanted to do this; it was that intense) I finally decided to extend this story. I did take everybody's opinion to heart, which was why is was so freaking hard to decide what to do. But in the end, I realized that the typical desire of everyone was that they simply wanted _more_ in one way or another.

So this story is **NOT** **COMPLETE.** Not in the least. Because I decided that I wanted to make an extremely long Itachi/Sakura fanfiction- one that has yet to be seen on this site. If my plans are put into action, then this story will have four parts, each spanning 25 chapters. So, yeah, a 100 chapter story. But I'm excited instead of scared. I've had a blast writing this story and I want it to continue.

I simply hope you'll all be here at the end of this journey with me, and that I'll hold your interests for these next three parts. But, in my personal opinion, I feel like the next three parts are going to be more exciting than this part. The beginning of this story started out slow and major, intense plot action didn't happen until these past five chapters. Everything else was sort of building up and whatnot. It won't be that way in the next two parts. Part II will explore many of the unanswered things from this part, and Part III should be simply freaking amazing. And the final part will be something unlike anything else ;)

But only time will tell with what will happen. I hope you'll be there to see the rest of this never-ending story out with me. Because I love you. Now, let's not break tradition. Onto chapter explanations and previews!

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><p>There is absolutely nothing I really need to explain in this chapter. I only wanted to draw your attention to a few things. One, the second scene in this chapter was what I added to hopefully cool off people's anger as to the Council last chapter. Two, Sakura is horrible at taking birth control. She really needs one of those implant types so that she doesn't have to remember to take pills everyday. Three, the final scene of this chapter begins with the same scroll that started out this story, but it's been added to. There are actually a lot of connections to previous chapters in this chapter. I tried to make everything come full circle. :D<p>

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><p><strong><em>Next Part: <em>**

_They were never able to find out who the spy was in Konoha, nor were they able to stop the illegal jutsu trade. But when Sakura is given a mission to get more information on the jutsu trade, everything spirals out of control for the new mother. Past relationships, betrayals, broken hearts, pain, parenthood, deadly jutsus, and manipulations... Everything will erupt and come crashing down hard on Sakura, Itachi, and their baby. No one is safe and nothing is ever what it seems. But pain can only make you stronger... Assuming that, you survive, of course.  
><em>

_**Part II: Past Sins**_

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><p>So, a few last things before I go. One, I got a guest review asking who I was rooting for to win in the end of the manga. My answer is: Despite all my frustrations with a lot of things that happens in Naruto (Itachi dying, Sakura's lack of awesomeness, really awesome characters being killed off) I am still rooting for Naruto to beat Tobi. I am a sucker for good guys winning in the end. Life can be too grim for a sad ending to something that's supposed to entertain and provide escapism, in my opinion. I don't want to be depressed with something that's supposed to make me happy; and a sad ending would do that to me.<p>

Two, I'm not sure when I'll get around to starting this next part. It'll probably be a decent amount of time- I'm guessing at least a month, possibly more. I haven't even finished the first chapter of Part II and I want to sort of take a breather between the parts. Furthermore, I am starting college in a month, and once I start, my updating schedule might or might not be slowed. I honestly have no idea. I'm an engineering major, and we're told that our courses are rigorous in studying and homework, so we'll just have to see (I've also heard you have more time to slack off in college- so everything is up in the air right now, lol).

And honestly, I might go and try to post a few more stories along side of this one. I'm currently working on two more Naruto stories- one of which is a Sakura/Itachi story, and another one that is a Gaara/Sakura one. So don't hold your breath for a fast update :) (For more information on the two Naruto stories, I will update the bottom of my profile with some in depth summaries about them. When I eventually post them (the Sakura/Itachi one will be posted first) I'd love for you all to check them out ;D)

Okay, that's all! I hope to see you in Chapter 26, with Part II! I love you all so much; thank you for the phenomenal response to these first 25 chapters! You're amazing, thank you for reading!


	26. Chapter 26: Night Terror

It's been a pretty long month since I've updated, huh? Considering it's been over six... I am so sorry! I'm not going to waste time explaining anything here so please, simply read and enjoy the first chapter of the second arc of Second Chance!

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><p><em><strong>Part II: <strong>_

**Past Sins**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Six: <em>Night Terror<em>

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><p><em>Dear Mother, <em>

_ I know we haven't spoken in several years, but given the recent events in my life, I felt it time to reconnect our relationship. Since the last time you saw me, I've changed greatly. It's been six years since the last time we saw each other and I think I've changed the most over these six years than any other point in my life. _

_ One of the most important things that has happened to me these last few years is that I met someone. We met over two years ago, and have been dating for two solid years now. Our relationship is very serious and, honestly, I plan to spend the rest of my life with him, even if we are not yet engaged. His name is Arata Genji and he is one of the top shinobi in the village. _

_ But, that's not all. The major reason I wished to write you is to inform you that you and Father are now grandparents. Arata's parents had died by time he was thirteen, so you two are the only remaining grandparents that our baby has. His name is Hajime Haruno (we agreed that when we get married, the baby will take Arata's last name) and he is two months old. He was born this past July, on July 15th. I hope that I can bring the baby for a visit at some point. I'd very much like him to get to know his only grandparents. _

_With all my love, _

_Your Daughter, Sakura Haruno_

Sakura took a deep breath, nodding to herself. It had taken her exactly thirteen tries to write this letter. The first four were too casual, too long. It just seemed as if the entire matter was trivial. The next seven were too deep and too involved. Sakura had confessed to reviving Itachi Uchiha, talked about how she had refused his proposals for the past few months, and how she was worried about the future of her son. But Sakura wasn't that close to her mother and didn't want her mom to know things that not even Tsunade or Naruto knew. Finally, after two more tries, she had penned her thirteenth letter perfectly. It was formal but that was what was needed when speaking to her parents after all this time.

As she was rolling the letter up into a scroll to be delivered, she heard a loud wail. Pushing the letter aside (she'd send it when she had more time) she rushed up the basement steps to her living room. There she found her baby crying, his father rocking him in his arms, pacing around the room.

"He's hungry, Sakura." Nodding her head, she walked over to the infant, gently stroking his face with her finger. Smiling softly, she took him out of Itachi's arms, settling down onto the couch to feed him. Upon tasting the natural milk, the baby stopped crying, instead suckling greedily. Itachi watched her, his eyes soft.

"He's so funny, you know? He's such a quiet baby, except when he's hungry. He screams something fierce when he's hungry. Even when he has tummy aches or needs a diaper change, he only whimpers." Itachi leaned over the back of the couch, watching Sakura and their son. "Hajime takes so much after you. Sasuke found some of your baby pictures when he was cleaning the Uchiha Compound and your house. You two could pass as twins." Her finger trailed along his eyes and nose. "Already, I can tell from the bone structure that he'll inherit those deep tear troughs of yours. He doesn't have any of my features," she pouted. Itachi smirked, gently touching the baby's chubby cheeks with the back of his index finger.

"I don't know. He might have your forehead." He grinned as he saw her face flush.

"His forehead is perfectly fine!" Sakura retorted. "It's not large at all..."

"I never said yours was large," he teased. She stuck her tongue out in response, but she was not upset in the least. Both of them went quiet as they watched the baby nurse. As Sakura shifted him from one breast to the other, stopping briefly to burp him, they both saw that he was quickly filling up, growing tired. It wasn't long before she was stopping to burp him one final time, and then rocking him to sleep.

"Will you take him, Itachi?" Sakura asked, holding out their sleeping child to her boyfriend. He nodded, easily scooping the boy into his arms. Sakura smiled, looking down as she rebuttoned her top. Itachi had surprised her when Hajime was first born with how skilled he was with children. He had no hesitation in holding Hajime, nor rocking him to sleep, or even changing his diaper. It was a much different sight from most first-time fathers, at least in Sakura's experience. She often had to help coach new fathers in how to hold their newborns at the hospital, assuring them that they would not break their new baby- it was not so with Itachi. Of course, considering the fact that he had been an integral part of Sasuke's childhood and helped raise his little brother, it explained as to why he was so adept in handling children.

Standing, she tilted her head, silently asking if he was okay with watching Hajime for a few minutes. Itachi nodded and Sakura slipped back downstairs to send off her letter to her parents. It took her a few minutes, but she was back upstairs with Itachi in no time. The man had settled down with Hajime on the couch, his eyes closed. Neither of them had been getting much sleep, but Sakura knew he wasn't asleep.

"I finished the letter," she told him softly. Itachi nodded, still not cracking an eyelid open. "I also sent it. Hopefully they'll reply back soon." Sakura settled down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Tomorrow, aren't you training with Sasuke?" He nodded. She could tell he was actually starting to fall asleep. "Then I'll take Hajime with me when I train the genins. I'm off work tomorrow."

"Good," he murmured. Sakura decided it was a good time for both of them to stop talking. Nuzzling her head closer to Itachi, she drifted off to sleep with him and their son.

* * *

><p>"Fuuka! No! Do not try that jutsu during practice when Sasuke is not here!" Sakura chided, patting Hajime's back as she stood over her genin. "The Chidori is not something to be toyed around with. It can kill; this is not something for sparring with. Furthermore, Fuuka, you haven't mastered it yet. Using a powerful jutsu you haven't mastered is the worst thing you can do. It can backfire and kill you, it can drain your chakra, or it can kill one of your teammates." Fuuka pouted, embarrassed, as she kicked a rock across the field.<p>

"Yes, Sakura-sensei," she finally grumbled. Sakura nodded, gesturing for her to go back to sparring with her other two teammates. Fuuka joined the fray, while Sakura watched them with a critical eye. Hajime, being the well-behaved baby that he was, cooed quietly. He seemed content just being held in Sakura's arms, watching her team fight.

As Hideyo, being the only one able to use the chakra scalpel, sliced at Fuuka's arms, Akihiko came down on him, his kick landing squarely in his back. Fuuka reached up and gripped Akihiko's ankle causing all three to tumble together in a giant heap. Sakura sighed, watching them squabble and fight.

"All right, all right, enough," she finally declared, shaking her head. "This isn't getting us anywhere. I'll make a clone to spar with you three. The point of this exercise is teamwork, though. Remember, the Chuunin Exams are less than two months away! To pass them, your teamwork must be top of the line. You never know what will be thrown at you guys."

"We're already fourteen, Sakura-sensei. We're all sure we can handle the exams." Sakura shook her head, sighing.

"Unlike other fourteen year-old genins, though, you haven't participated in any Chuunin Exams. You don't have the advantage of knowing what to expect." They had all heard this lecture before so none of them were really paying attention to her words. Annoyed, Sakura made her clone, deciding she would not go easy on them. The three took to a triangle formation around her clone, waiting for Sakura's clone to make the first move.

She did not disappoint. Sakura let her clone go relentless on the three, barraging them with her fists and chakra scalpels. Hideyo was the only one capable of blocking her chakra scalpels with his own (of course, Sakura could have easily snapped his in two, considering her chakra was much more refined, while his was still shaky). The other two were hesitant to attack, but as Sakura's clone overpowered Hideyo, they finally caught the drift. Both charged at her, but Sakura was quick to kick them back.

The real Sakura gazed on, almost bored, leaning against a tree. Hajime had fallen asleep, and she knew it would be some time before her genins could defeat the clone. As it looked to be, her clone was doing a very decent job of pounding and thrashing the three around. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she had to train with Team Seven, and then she and Sasuke were going to train the genin again. After that, it was a night shift at the hospital. And, if she recalled correctly, on Saturday, there was some sort of council meeting she had to attend. Maybe Ino could watch Hajime during that time.

And then there was- Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, turning her gaze to the newest shinobi that had landed soundlessly in front of her. It was Kotetsu. He gave a smile and a wave for his greeting.

"Hey there Sakura." Bending down to see the sleeping Hajime, Kotetsu grinned, rubbing the boy's head, "Hi there wittle Hajime. Aww, he's so cute." Sakura laughed, smiling as only a proud mother could. Kotetsu straightened up, handing Sakura a scroll. "Naruto-sama," she never got used to that, "wishes to see you in his office. Apparently, you have a mission."

"It's been quite some time since I had my own mission. Thanks Kotetsu!" He nodded and dashed away. Sakura gazed back at her genin, seeing them still being beaten by her clone. She shrugged, figuring she would just let them fight with the clone. "Hey guys, I've been summoned to the Hokage's office. If you guys defeat the clone, go ahead and take off for the rest of the day!" They nodded, pausing long enough to listen. In a chorus, they thanked her, wishing her luck on her mission.

The Hokage building was bustling with excitement and busy shinobi as always. Sakura weaved her way through the ninja until she made it up to Naruto's office. His door was closed- apparently, he was meeting with someone- and she sat down on one of the chairs, waiting. Hajime yawned, opening his black eyes.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Sakura asked her baby, letting him grip her finger. His face scrunched up and he began to whimper. "It is your lunch time, isn't it?" Sighing, she shifted him so that his head was resting against her shoulder, as she dug through her diaper bag. Finding the bottle and burp-rag, Sakura began to feed him. Hajime was halfway through the bottle when the door finally opened. Out came Kiba, Chouji, and Tenten. The three seemed to have been reporting in from a mission with how haggard they looked. They all cordially greeted Sakura, too tired to stay and chat.

Sakura could hear Naruto sigh from within the office. Smiling, still carrying Hajime and the bottle, she gently knocked on the door. Not having seen her, Naruto called out, "Come in." It was his professional Hokage voice that he had adapted over the past year. It was a little scary to think that over a year ago, he had been promoted. It felt much longer.

So much could happen a year's time. From being put on trial to be executed, to losing a pregnancy, to Naruto being promoted, then the old Council dying, Itachi's name being cleared of his crimes, to the birth of Naruto and Hinata's little boy, and then Hajime's birth... everything felt like it had taken years.

Naruto's face lit up when he saw his teammate. His shoulders slumped in relief as he gestured for her to come in and close the door. Sakura grinned, sitting down across from him. Before he did anything, he held his hands out to see Hajime. Considering the fact that he was the boy's godfather, Sakura gave the child to him easily. Naruto expertly placed the bottle into the baby's mouth, grinning as he looked down.

"It seems strange to see him so big. I feel like it was just yesterday that you were screaming expletives and breaking every bone in Itachi's hand as you birthed this little guy." Sakura wished she could say that Naruto was exaggerating, but sadly, he was not. Birthing pain was not pleasant for Sakura. She could take Tsunade pounding her to an inch of her life; could take ridiculous training sessions between herself, Itachi, or Team Seven; could take being critically injured on missions without a whine. But giving birth to a baby? Oh, she screamed and cursed and crushed Itachi's hand.

Apparently, her pain had been enhanced due to the miscarriage and damage done during the first pregnancy. It felt like her insides were coming out- being ripped out of her- as well as the regular pain of pushing a baby out of a tiny hole. She had gripped Itachi's hand (in the same breath, cussing him for impregnating her, cursing herself for ever allowing him to have sex with her, and moaning her fate at having forgotten to take those _damn_ birth control pills), while unintentionally, she sent chakra to her hand, painfully crushing the bones in Itachi's hand as she squeezed. He was a good sport, though, and withstood her verbal and physical abuse without complaint, though as the more she crushed the bones in his hand, the more he winced and seemed to pale.

When she realized what she had done (during the lull between one of her contractions; she was in labor for a _long _time- over twenty-four hours) she had apologized, healing what she could. And then, when the next contraction hit, she continued to squeeze and break the bones. When Hajime was actually being pushed out, Sakura was surprised she didn't crush his hand into a bloody, mangled mess. Then again, as she thought about it, she was pretty sure Itachi had forced her to clench the bed sheets instead of his hand.

The birth had not been easy. Shizune had once expressed fears that delivering the baby would be rough on her; it turned out to be true. Her insides were not as healed as she, and everyone else, had believed. Hidden scarring and damage done that none of them were aware of became apparent the longer she was in labor. And even once giving birth to Hajime (luckily, he was fine and healthy) Sakura had a close brush with death. She couldn't stop bleeding and Tsunade had to go straight into a delicate surgery to save her student.

Itachi had been worried sick, Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, Kakashi, and Sai all told her later. All of them said they had never seen him freak out like he did when Shizune forced him to stay out of the operating room. Itachi had been livid, even raising his voice, and if it hadn't been for Naruto and Sasuke there to restrain him, he would have _forced_ Shizune to let him into the operating room. He had no windows to watch from, nothing to do but pace the floors and stress about Sakura's well-being. Due to the seal, he could feel himself weakening from her state, but because of their close proximity, he wasn't feeling the immense pain. He was still hurting, but they both had figured since he didn't actually _have_ many of the organs (ovaries, womb, cervix, etc.) that were currently Sakura's problem, the pain couldn't be reflected back onto him.

Still, her friends said he had sweated, paced, and eventually, resigned himself to sitting in a chair, his head bowed. Ino told her he was shaking, refusing to look at any of them. Sasuke had told her that, while he didn't cry, he came the closest he had ever seen to his brother's tears. They all agreed that he was sickly pale and looked close to fainting. But when Tsunade had come out, telling them the procedure was a success, he had been the first one in the room (without the previous Hokage even _allowing_ him to see her) staying by her side for every waking moment.

Snapping back to their conversation, Sakura responded without a hitch, "Well, yeah, but it seems hardly a month ago that you were dashing from rooftop to rooftop, screaming at the top of your lungs, 'I'm going to have a baby! A baby!' Boy, Hinata was ready to kill you." Naruto grinned widely, practically beaming, obviously not regretting his actions, despite the fact that he was _supposed _to be Hokage and a very _poised, composed, _and _professional_ one at that. But she had a feeling his little outbursts were what endeared him to the people of the village. He was not like the typical Hokages of the past. He mingled with everyone, cheerfully greeting anyone who came his way and often wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He never did anything that would endanger the village, but he wasn't the type of Kage that all the previous standards had dictated. Much like everything else in his life, he had carved his own path, doing what he was knew was best. And it worked.

"And if I do recall, it was actually a few months ago that you were jumping again from rooftop to rooftop, gleefully exclaiming, 'I'm a father! A dad! A dad! I had a baby boy!' as soon as your son was born."

"It was _five _months ago," Naruto grumbled. He turned his face back down to his godson. "Geez, your mom can be so mean to me. And I'm the _Hokage_." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"How is Minato?" Naruto had named his son after his father. He had declared that he would name all his kids after someone who had made a difference in his life. She knew he was planning to name his next son Jiraiya, and if he had another, Nagato. If he had daughters, he would name them Kushina and Konan.

"Ah, probably the same as little Hajime. Though my baby seems to cry much more than yours. It's not fair."

"Look at his father. Hajime has inherited his temperament. If I had to guess, I bet Itachi was a very well-behaved, mild child. Anyways, Kotetsu said you had a mission for me." Naruto coughed, seemingly switching back into his Hokage mode. However, he continued to hold Hajime, burping the child, and then going back to feeding him.

"Yeah, you're not going to like it, but it was a request specifically for you. And... well... considering who it was coming from, I couldn't refuse." Sakura quirked an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. "It's a mission to Sand," he explained simply. "Gaara wanted you to come back and re-evaluate his hospitals to make sure they're up to par. Especially since he's been hearing so much about what you, Shizune, and Tsunade-baa-chan have been doing here. And considering it has been three years since you've been there... Well, I think he's excited to see you."

"That's fine," Sakura responded, smiling. She did like Gaara and felt warmth blossom in her chest at the thought that he had specifically requested her. "Is that all?" Naruto shook his head.

"Two more things with this mission. One, since you're already there, we have a few diplomatic things to work out. Nothing major and I was going to send Shikamaru to handle it, but he's being lazy. Since you're going there anyways, I figured it was two birds with one stone. I'll give you documents you need to give him; you two can work out whatever issues there are. I know you can handle it; you know what is good for the village and what we can compromise on. It's just updating the treaty."

"Of course. The final thing?" There was a shadow that crossed Naruto's eyes. Frowning, he sighed.

"Do you remember that jutsu-ring mission we were sent on about a year-and-a-half ago? The one where you were captured?" Sakura nodded. How could she forget? Despite being a medic, those scars did not heal perfectly. There were still faint white scar lines crisscrossing her chest. "Well, we've never been able to track it down or anything. It's becoming more and more of a pain to deal with. Especially because it's gaining power and becoming increasingly more dangerous. It's starting to influence other Hidden Villages, which can never be a good thing. We've also received information that they have spies implanted in all of the Great Five Shinobi Villages. And that they have some very nasty and powerful jutsus they are planning to use. We don't want another Akatsuki event happening, so all of us are trying to consolidate our information. As it stands, Gaara has all of the other villages' information. You are to go and report all of our village's findings (it's in this scroll)," Naruto held up the scroll to illustrate his point, "and then collect Gaara's information and bring it back. Simple enough, though, right?" Sakura nodded.

"Very easy." Naruto glanced down at Hajime, who had finished the bottle, and he handed back the boy wordlessly to Sakura. She frowned at the thought of leaving her son (considering she had never done it before and was supposed to be off mission rotation for about a year for maternity leave) for a few weeks. "How long is this mission?"

"It'll be about two weeks. I told Gaara about you being a mom and actually..." Naruto was hesitating. Sakura looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. She knew she wouldn't like whatever was making him hesitate. "Well, I can't take Itachi off rotation- he's too important. Even if he's not out of the village, he's still on duty with me and I can't have our number one guard and ANBU Captain carrying around an infant. And Tsunade-baa-chan and Ino work at the hospital; Sasuke is getting a mission with the genin team so they can't keep him and..." Sakura hadn't mentioned anything about her son but the way he was building excuses was making her more and more suspicious. "Well, Gaara would really like to see your son. And Shikamaru and I were talking and we both thought it would be a good ploy for you to use the baby to sorta get sympathy for Konoha. You know how babies work on people. And yours is such a good baby and cute... I mean, all the stuffy councilmen in Suna will melt for a mother and her newborn baby. They'll be more apt to give us what we want." He finished the last few sentences in a rush upon seeing Sakura's glare.

"Absolutely not. I am not taking my child out into the desert for three days. How can I travel with him across trees? And what if we're attacked? Itachi will never allow it. _I _won't allow it." Her glare was scary, Naruto could easily admit, but he couldn't back down.

"Saaaaakura-chaaaaan, please." She scoffed, looking at him in disbelief.

"Would you take your son across the desert?" she asked him. "Would Hinata allow it?" He stiffened and nodded sharply.

"She would trust me enough to protect our son. She wouldn't _like_ it, but she would allow me. Anyways, Sakura, how are you going to nurse him while you're gone? Your breast milk will start drying up."

"I can always pump," she retorted hotly. "No, Naruto. I can't take Hajime in such harsh conditions." He frowned, clearly not liking the difficult position she was putting him in. On one hand, he _was_ the Hokage and could technically just order her to use her baby as a subconscious bargaining chip for Konoha. On the other hand, he was her best friend and practically brother, and he would never want to damage their relationship. Besides that, he also knew she was speaking the truth about the danger of taking a two-month old across a journey in the desert.

Still, there was a problem with keeping Hajime here (he would have to be switched from person to person over the course of the two weeks) and Gaara truly did want to see the child, _and_ it would be a good tactic to make the Sand village more apt to go lenient on their treaty. He knew the councilmen in Sand wanted Konoha to pay a somewhat pretty penny to keep their alliance- Gaara was against it, of course, but he was getting outvoted in this case- and Naruto really didn't want to strain their relationship. Sand was their most important ally, and he would do anything to protect it.

Sighing, he expressed these sentiments to Sakura, emphasizing how her son could be the perfect thing to draw on the heartstrings of the Sand's Council. She sighed, looking down at her now sleeping son.

"I'll talk to Itachi about it, okay? If he says no, though, it's a no." Naruto could accept that. At least she was willing to consider the idea. "When do you want me to leave?"

"Tomorrow would be preferable. Sometime in the morning or afternoon."

"Can I have the scrolls for the jutsu trade?" He nodded, passing her the scroll. "And the diplomatic part?" Another scroll was passed her way. Sakura tucked both scrolls in her kunai pouch, giving a brief bow to Naruto. He sighed, waving the gesture dismissively. Formalities always bothered him, which was the reason she usually did it. As she rose with a grin, he rolled his eyes. "All right, Naruto-_sama_," he frowned, making Sakura grin even more, "I'll let you know tomorrow if you come to see me off about Hajime."

"I wouldn't miss it," he responded. He stood up from his desk, coming around to walk his best friend out of the door. He grinned, rubbing Hajime's face with his finger before the two left. "Bye bye, little Hajime. See ya later, Sakura-chan." Sakura smiled, enveloping her best friend in a hug, before departing. She could hear his sigh as she walked away, and smiled, knowing that there were at least three different people waiting to meet with him. His day just never ended.

* * *

><p>He handed him the cup of tea, settling down beside him on the porch. Itachi nodded his thanks, taking a small sip. Sasuke sighed, setting his own cup aside, leaning back on his arms as he gazed up at the sky. Itachi waited for whatever his brother wanted to say.<p>

"I think I'm going to propose to Mei," he finally told his older brother. Itachi raised an eyebrow at this statement, knowing that Sasuke and Mei had not even been dating a year. Sasuke saw his brother's look and frowned. He could practically read Itachi's mind. "I know, I know. We've hardly dated, especially when comparing you and Sakura." Itachi nodded, turning his gaze upwards as well.

The Uchiha Compound was quiet. It was a peaceful place now that Sasuke had refurbished it. He had painted each building, using funds from the clan to give genins missions to help him re-do the Compound. Every building was cleaned up, there were no traces of blood or decay anywhere; in all honesty, it looked brand new. It was one of the most beautiful parts of the village. Itachi knew Naruto was itching to let other people live in the place but respected Sasuke and Itachi's wishes to keep it closed off to the public.

They were both talking about giving over half of it away, though. One half of the Uchiha Compound- the half were they had lived as children, where the graveyard was, where their temples were- was the half they wanted to keep. The excess buildings would be fine for others to move into. However, the part that made them hesitate was the future. They wanted the entire Compound for their family. And eventually, both boys would have more children. Their children would have children. And through the generations, the Uchiha Clan would bloom again. And didn't the entire Uchiha Clan deserve to live in the place of their forefathers? If they gave half of it away, they wouldn't get the chance.

"I'm getting old, Itachi. I want to have children soon," Sasuke explained simply. "You and Sakura can't be the only ones to restore the clan. Speaking of which... have you talked about how many kids you want?"

"You're only twenty-five, Sasuke. You still have time," Itachi responded to Sasuke's previous statement. "And, no, we have not really had that discussion. She is aware that I would like more children, but considering that we are not married as of yet, we are refraining from having anymore until that time. After marriage, we will be more apt to have multiple children."

"How many?" Itachi shrugged. "I want several children, nii-san. I'm thinking at least seven."

"That's quite a lot. I will not force Sakura to have more children than she wants. But I suppose having a big family is necessary when considering how few people we have left in our clan." There was a grim smile on his face. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to think about the reason why there were only two of them left. It still left a bitter taste in his mouth and a gaping hole in his chest.

"The faster we get married, the faster we can restore the clan." Itachi took a small sip of his tea, mulling over Sasuke's words. He was frowning into his cup; Sasuke frowned, knowing he would not like what his brother was going to say to him.

"Do you even love her, Sasuke?" Sasuke was right- he didn't like Itachi's question. His eyes shadowed as he tried to think of an appropriate response. "Be honest, Sasuke," Itachi told him quietly, his blue eyes piercing. Sasuke sighed irritably, running a hand through his hair.

"She's tolerable," Sasuke finally ground out. "I don't necessarily love her. She's a... passable kunoichi. She treats me well and seems to love me. I also think she'll be a good mother, and she doesn't seem to mind giving up her shinobi duties. I guess that's what I mostly care about."

"How will you treat her?" Itachi asked. Sasuke seemed to think about that question before he answered.

"As a husband should treat his wife... to an extent. I will do my best to support her and to communicate with her. We must put on a unified front in front of our children, after all. But... will I feel about her as strongly as I do Sakura? No, probably not. If she were to die, would I be devastated? I could not say that I would. I would protect her to the best of my ability, and I will respect her wants, but... I cannot do much more than that."

"Does she know that you do not love her?" Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm sure she suspicions my true feelings are not that of love. But I believe she loves me enough to want to do anything to please me. She thinks I will fall in love with her in due time- and that could be. However, considering that she comes from a reasonably powerful clan, she knows how to handle herself in meetings and other events. So she'll be able to handle the duties of Uchiha Clan Matriarch... well, at least until you come back and Sakura takes her place. How long until that happens, by the way?" Itachi's lips pursed and his eyes narrowed fractionally.

"I am not sure," his response was clipped. "Sakura and I... are in disagreements about when something of the sort should occur. I am not quite ready to reveal myself to the public just yet."

"Why not, nii-san?" Itachi turned and poked his brother's forehead, shaking his head. "Ow."

"Because, little brother, it just isn't time yet. I will reveal my true self in due time, I am sure. However, right now, the moment is not opportune. Sakura will come to accept this soon enough; eventually, she will understand my reasoning. But... of course, she is being stubborn." There was a quirk of his lips as he thought over his girlfriend. "It might take some time before she comes to see my point." Sighing, he glanced up at the sky. "You have my blessings if you wish to marry Mei. As long as you treat her correctly, then I will not dissuade you from your goals. Will you give her all the artifacts of the Uchiha Clan Matriarch- the ring, the necklace, the earrings?" Sasuke frowned, clearly having forgotten about them. "We still have them. I... made sure to keep them safe."

"But they should be for Sakura. She's going to be the true Matriarch." Sighing, Sasuke shook his head. "No, keep them for Sakura. I don't want that tradition to break."

"Are you going to tell Mei my true identity before you two are wed?" Sasuke shook his head again.

"Maybe after we are married. I do not want it to spread throughout the village. Besides, I don't want it to freak her out and she end up breaking up with me."

"Ah," Itachi responded. The new father leaned back on his hands, sighing as he watched the sun's location. "I will have to go home soon. It's my night to make dinner." Sasuke nodded, standing up. He picked up Itachi's empty tea cup and his own, sighing. Itachi took it as his cue to leave, especially when both boys sensed an incoming presence. "Especially since Mei is on her way over here. I will depart now, little brother."

"Tell Sakura I said hi; and give Hajime a hug from Uncle Sasuke." Itachi grinned, nodding. "Now, I'll see you later."

"Farewell, little brother." Itachi gave a small wave in return to Mei's exuberant greeting on his way out of the compound. Once outside the gates, he took the roofs, deciding to get home quickly. He wanted dinner finished before Sakura returned home with Hajime. He smiled, passing over top of the dango shop, stopping as he jumped down. Sakura did love sweets, just like he did...

Well... she would like the little treat. Even if it made him late, it would be worth it to see her smile.

* * *

><p>"Definitely not. I will take care of Hajime during your mission, or Sasuke will." Sakura nodded, smiling as she ate one of the dango sticks Itachi had brought home.<p>

"That's what I told him. I'm just glad we're in agreement." Hajime was already fast asleep, and both of his parents were sitting around the kitchen table, finishing off the dango. Sakura had been explaining her mission to Itachi, bringing up Naruto's desire to take their baby to Sand. He had staunchly refused, as she had expected.

He took the last dango, closing his eyes in obvious delight at the sweet, sticky treat. Sakura was always amused by his love of sweets. He had told her that his favorite foods were onigiri and cabbage, but apparently, he had a strong love for dango, much like she did. Sighing, she looked at the clock- it was hardly past nine- and figured she should probably go to bed. The earlier she left in the morning, the quicker she could get to Suna, and thus, the quicker she could get home. Itachi seemed to realize her train of thoughts and stood up, offering his hand to hers. She smiled at him, letting him help her to her feet.

It was striking to remember that this gentle, caring man, who was an amazing father to their son, was at one time a cold, almost unemotional killer. Whether or not he had been just a spy in Akatsuki, he had still been a ruthless member of the organization. But it was so long ago; in the past. She could hardly remember those days that, as a teenager, she had hated him with every fiber of her being. She had been petrified of him and what he could do, blamed him for taking _her_ Sasuke-kun away from the village, and simply loathed him, seeing him as the representation of every evil thing imaginable.

How time had changed... Grinning, she kissed him briefly, smiling. As she pulled away, Itachi gripped her wrist, pulling her back to him. His arms settled around her waist as he kissed her. She felt like she was melting in his embrace- it wasn't often that they got to be intimate with each other since Hajime was born. The baby slept in the room with them- they were both overly paranoid about leaving him in his own room alone- and he woke up so often that they were always too tired to really do anything.

But Hajime was upstairs asleep and Sakura and Itachi weren't exhausted. She responded eagerly to his passionate lips, her tongue twirling with his. He managed to walk them through the kitchen and into the living room without breaking from her mouth. Twisting her, so that he'd be on the bottom, he pulled them onto the couch. His hands roved her body, and she responded eagerly. They kissed, touching, moaning, and writhing beneath each other. At some point, Itachi had turned so that she was underneath him, and she wasn't even sure where their clothes had gone, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Itachi and her, this night, and _right now_.

* * *

><p>She was curled up into his side, sleeping soundly. His hand was draped across her waist, his fingers resting on her upper thigh, while her hands were securely tucked against his chest. It was <em>perfect<em>, especially since Hajime had yet to wake up for his nightly feed.

But then, years and years of training kicked in, and from their wonderfully deep slumber, both shinobi opened their eyes almost instantly. Well, Itachi was first to sit up, and it took his shifting to wake her up. They both felt it, though. Itachi leveled Sakura with a stern look, and she knew exactly what he was saying. There was a fierce aura coming from him- it was deadly, and she knew whoever was trying to sneak into their house (because they could _feel_ the malicious intent), it would not be pretty for them.

He already had a kunai in his hand; she wasn't sure where it came from (under the pillow; the nightstand; beside the bed; did he just _sleep_ with one?) but he moved silently and swiftly through the darkened night. It still amazed her to watch her boyfriend move. She had, in all of her years, never seen a man move so gracefully, light, and stealthily. If he didn't want to be found, there was literally _no_ way to sense him. As Itachi moved, Sakura did as well. She slid out of the bed, shuffling to Hajime's crib.

Gently, lovingly, she picked up her sleeping infant. Frowning lightly, she knew she had to do this, but she still hated it. Her fingers sent the tiniest jolt of chakra into his head, putting him into a deep sleep. She could not have her child waking up in the middle of a fight. Holding Hajime protectively in one arm, she withdrew her own kunai, tensed and ready. She wasn't going to put the baby down and follow Itachi- that was utterly stupid to leave her son alone when one of the shinobi could come in and grab him. No, she would hold him and make sure that no one touched her son.

Itachi was at the door to their bedroom; he glanced back at her, nodding once. She nodded back in confirmation and then watched with bated breath as her elite boyfriend practically disappeared down the hallway. Her hand tugged down on her long T-shirt; she was thankful that she and Itachi had dressed once they had come up to their bedroom. She was also grateful that her outfit was practical to move around in; for some reason, she had the strangest feeling she would be fighting this night.

Everything was silent for a long while. At least five minutes. And then, all hell erupted. She heard the explosions, the clashing of kunai, the screams as man fell after man. Her grip tightened on Hajime as she waited. She counted each fall- there were at least eight people down there.

And then, after another explosion, she felt the incoming presence. Her hand drew chakra unconsciously; there was a fierce maternal instinct to protect her child that she had never felt so acutely before. Sakura slid into the closet, masking her presence. Two shinobi crept through the bedroom, both scanning around the room. They were desperately looking for _something_ and it wasn't her.

"There!" one of the men exclaimed, heading towards her nightstand. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted the two mission scrolls laying there. They were after her scrolls?

Then it all clicked, memories resurfacing as she recalled her previous mission dealing with this jutsu trade. Immediately out of Konoha's gates, her team was attacked. The entire time, they had been trailed and spied upon. There had been a spy in Konoha, informing the jutsu trade group every time a mission appeared to do with them. That's what this attack was about- they were coming to destroy the evidence found in her scroll. The other shinobi downstairs were simply a distraction as these two did the work.

Frowning, Sakura threw her kunai with deadly precision. The shinobi she aimed at managed to hear it at the last possible second, twisting his body so that the sharp weapon thudded into his shoulder. He grunted and turned to face her. His partner paled, seemingly recognizing her pink hair.

"We don't have a chance. Grab the scroll and go!" he hissed. Sakura was too angry to smirk cockily. She flew at them, her fury fueling her ferocious strokes. Because, damn it, they had broken into her house! They could hurt Hajime and she would _kill_ anyone who ever posed a danger to her son.

Her fist made contact with the man she had hit with the kunai. The force of her chakra-coated hand caved in the man's chest; he gasped and grunted, falling to his feet with a gurgle of blood at his lips. Sakura backed up, glaring at the last shinobi. His hand was touching her scroll; something about that pissed her off, too. Her other hand tightened around Hajime as she dashed towards him; at the same time, he grabbed the scroll, trying to flee.

She was faster. Her foot broke his spinal column, sending him spiraling to the ground. She recognized his final attempt to try and burn the scroll with an exploding tag; her foot came down with a heavy stomp, crushing every bone in his hand before he could activate it. Growling, she heel-stomped his head, killing him almost gleefully.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura picked up the two scrolls, pocketing them. She briefly wondered if she should go check on Itachi or not. Apparently, these guys were not the strongest out of the bunch. Itachi would be able to handle himself-

A piercing, blood curdling scream erupted from downstairs. She recognized that sound of pure agony. Itachi was inflicting his Tsukuyomi on someone, and it did not sound like he was being charitable. Figuring that this must be the last person alive, Sakura decided to chance it and join him. His eyes flickered to her as she came into the living room with him. The man he had subjugated to his genjutsu was struggling to breathe, his eyes glassy, and drool falling out of his mouth. He could not function properly after he had surely been tortured for about three days straight in his mind.

"These men are after your scroll. It's because of that mission." Sakura nodded, pursing her lips.

"Two of them snuck upstairs to find the scroll. Don't worry, I took care of them." He nodded, having no doubt in her abilities. "Were you able to find out who sent them?"

"Yes. But the person was not within Konoha. Somehow, their contact found out about your mission and then sent for them to attack. But they do not know who that person is. Nonetheless, you should report this attack to Naruto and possibly request an extra guard to go with you. I am sure that they will attack again." She nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a shifting of the man still beneath their feet.

Both of their eyes widened as he managed to gain enough consciousness to activate a jutsu. Itachi went to kill him, but was too slow in reacting.

"Shit," he cursed. Sakura flinched, knowing that whatever had happened was bad. Itachi _never_ cursed unless it was dire. Worried, she drew a protective shield of chakra around Hajime, wrapping both arms around him, cushioning him into her chest. This had all happened in the matter of one second.

In the next second, a glow erupted from the man, as Itachi backed up, grabbing Sakura. He forced her against his chest and jumped, just as the man detonated hundreds of exploding tags, all of them going off at once on his body. He had apparently wrapped himself in the tags as a last ditch effort to destroy the scroll.

The eruption went outwards, catching everything in the room on fire. The walls crumbled as Itachi threw himself out of the window, holding Sakura, while Sakura held Hajime. Their baby was pressed tightly between both of their chests, so that none of the blast would harm him. Itachi landed on his back on the grass, breathing deeply. Sakura went to roll off of him, but he held her tightly, jumping to his feet. He pulled her back, just in time, as the house erupted into flames.

Finally, he turned her around, commanding her to begin a water jutsu. She placed Hajime down by her feet, and began the seals. Thankfully, water-based jutsu was her element and she was able to summon the most powerful water jutsu she knew to douse the flames. Itachi, who's second elemental type was water, too called a powerful water jutsu (stronger than hers, Sakura noted dourly) to try and stop their house from burning.

It was heart-wrenching to watch her house, the one she had lived in since she was eighteen, go up in flames. Her belongings, his belongings, everything was in there. Tears pricked at her eyes when she realized Heiwa was still trapped in the house- there was no way her dog would make it out alive. He would die, again.

After two more successive water jutsus, the fire was finally put out. The man's explosions had destroyed much of her house. The flames had gotten the attention of quite a few people and shinobi were beginning to flock to her house, curiously wondering what was happening. Ino, who lived the closest to her, was the first of Sakura's friends to make it there. She was running, demanding to know what had happened.

Sakura, still in tears, handed Hajime to Ino. "Please, we want to go check the damage," Sakura murmured, still in shock as she watched the tiny embers float up into the night sky. It was barely past four in the morning.

"Sakura, no. It's still too hot," Ino told her, gripping her arm. Sakura shook her head, breaking out of Ino's hold as she followed after Itachi. The house was still smoking, still overly hot, but the two drew chakra to their feet to try and take away the burn. Sakura looked around the remnants of her home, knowing they wouldn't be able to explore much.

The entire living room was gone; burnt to ash. She couldn't see anything salvageable in there. The kitchen and hallway was in almost as bad of shape- not everything was ash, but nothing could be saved. There were no full walls left, except at the very back of the kitchen, where the basement door was located. If Sakura had to guess, she was assuming the basement remained untouched. That filled her with relief, considering all her medical scrolls and files were down there, along with her poisons and other work. Her revival jutsu was still down there.

The upstairs had been touched by the explosion, as well. The room directly above the living room- a combination of Hajime's actual room and the bathroom- was completely obliterated. There was nothing remaining of the two rooms. The rest of the hallway was scorched and half of Sakura's room was destroyed. However, it looked like there were still several things in her room that she could save. Important mementos for both her and Itachi.

It pained her that Itachi might have lost everything he had from his former life. Granted, he didn't have much left, but he had still kept his old forehead protector and a few small things from his old house. At least the necklace he had worn around his neck for so many years was safe. It was on his neck again, Sakura finally convincing him to wear it (he had refused after first being revived, saying that if anyone had come in close contact with him as Itachi, they would assuredly notice that Arata had the exact same necklace). Sakura knew the necklace was one of Itachi's precious items- his most precious possession, in fact. It had been a gift from his best friend, Shisui, upon Itachi's promotion into ANBU. Itachi told Sakura later that it had been the last thing Shisui was able to give him before his death; it was the only tangible thing Itachi had left to remember his idol and best friend by- excluding the memories.

He had only started wearing it recently, after the birth of Hajime. Truthfully, Itachi was no longer as concerned about hiding his true identity as he once was. Everyone important knew the truth of who he was, the entire village knew the truth about Itachi's innocence, and most people didn't care to connect Arata Genji with Itachi Uchiha anymore. Sakura still couldn't fathom _why _Itachi hadn't revealed his true name to the village yet, but he was still holding himself back.

"We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find anything," Itachi told her softly. He grabbed her arm, leading her away from the smoldering ashes. Ino wordlessly handed Hajime to Itachi, as Sakura sat on the ground, looking up at the remains of her house. Tears streamed down her soot-covered face, and she swallowed hard, wondering what else this jutsu trade mission would do to her. It had sent her on a seduction mission, forcing her to have sex; it had gotten her tortured; and now it had caused her house to be destroyed.

"My mission," Sakura finally told him. Itachi glanced down, placing a hand on her head. He stroked her hair, staring off into the distance. "Where are we going to move to?"

"The Uchiha Clan Compound. As for your mission, you still need to go. Sasuke and I will take care of things on this end." He was staring hard at his son, contemplating. "You should take Hajime with you."

"What? But... why? Especially if this jutsu group is targeting me because I have the scroll; I'm sure to be attacked again. I can't put Hajime in that type of danger."

"I'm aware. But I won't be here to protect him and now that they know you have a son, it's not hard to imagine that they will come for him to get to you."

"They don't know that," Sakura retorted. "We killed everyone who attacked us." Itachi was still looking away from her, his mind clearly going through different scenarios. "I can't see your logic in making me take Hajime to Sand." Finally, he sighed, settling down beside her. Sakura leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"My reasoning is this," he began, one arm curling around her waist, pulling her tighter to his side, "if you take Hajime with you, I will know without a doubt that he will be safe. You will protect him with everything in you and no matter who attacks you, you'll be fine. Also, with the explosion of our house, they will probably believe the scroll to be destroyed. And... once you're in Suna, Gaara will be there to protect you. Hajime will be the safer in Suna than by being passed around from person to person in Konoha. Besides, we have nothing left here for him."

"I still feel like that's a weak argument," Sakura told him softly. "Last time I was on this mission, I was attacked the entire time." Itachi sighed irritably, realizing his girlfriend would not just go along with him. He was trying to be subtle, but it was clearly not registering with her.

"Sakura, I'm going to purposely lead them off your trail. I was able to see where the group was stationed at. I'm going to send a replacement scroll to their contact, as well as a message confirming their endeavors were a success. By doing this, the group is more apt to attack Konoha, rather than you. It will seem as if you are going to Sand simply for your diplomatic mission," he told her, feeling like he was spelling it out for her.

"Why didn't you tell me that in the beginning?" Sakura huffed, annoyed at Itachi's almost condescending tone.

"Because it was confidential; a lot of this mission is under ANBU jurisdiction and you know how secretive we are. Since I'm going to do this, I'm going to be delving into their organization and it is dangerous to speak about it." That was hardly the reason, though. Sakura's bland look told him that, once again, he'd have to give her the _real_ reason. "Remember, there is a spy somewhere," he whispered. Finally, she seemed to understand. He didn't want to explain more of what he was doing because a spy could overhear them. It could endanger his plans. She nodded, to which his shoulders seemed to slump in relief. "So just take Hajime with you."

"All right. I will." Taking a deep breath, she leaned closer to Itachi, as he shifted their child into her arms. He then pulled her into his lap, both of them staring up at the remains of their home. The crowd dispersed, leaving the family alone to mourn their losses. Ino mumbled that she was going to go tell Naruto what had happened, and was the last person to leave them.

Sakura and Itachi remained that way, neither saying anything. They watched the smoke clear and the sun begin to break through the midnight sky; both knew everything had changed. This could only be the beginning, the catalyst, of whatever was to come. So they spent these bittersweet, peaceful moments bracing themselves, knowing that once dawn fully came, they would have to give up a large part of their old life. Once more, they were to embark on something new without turning back. This was only the beginning of whatever was to come.

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>Like I said, I am so sorry for the delay. These past months have been the craziest of my entire life. Between switching schools, majors, health problems, and family issues, I've just had no time to write. So now that my life has (hopefully!) settled down, I'd like to get into a pretty standard updating schedule. Let's hope for every ten days or so, yeah?<p>

Okay, let's not break tradition. Onto chapter notes (which I hope will become shorter this time around!)

1. Hajime means "beginning". It seemed fitting for Sakura and Itachi's new beginning at parenthood.

2. I had a review in previous chapters asking me to make Sakura and Itachi's child a boy. I never responded because it had always been my plan since the beginning of this story to make their first born a boy. Actually, a boy named Hajime, at that. :D So, I hope you got your wish since I made their child a boy :)

3. I got another review in a previous chapter talking about Sakura going through labor and breaking Itachi's hand. The scene where she reflects on her son's birth was inspired so much from that review, so I'd really like to thank that reviewer for the inspiration. It also mentioned about Sasuke and when his wife gets pregnant... don't worry, I'll be sure to add a scene like that when the time comes ;D

4. The final note is about Naruto's desire for Sakura to take Hajime to Sand. This request is actually inspired by real life historical events. Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, was rumored to have taken her first son, Joseph II, to a meeting with the Hungarian diet to request aid when fighting in The War of Austrian Succession against Prussia. Upon seeing the baby and the mother, the Hungarian diet was moved enough to grant her request. Of course, I doubt that's how it exactly went in history, but that is where the idea came from. Kinda cool, huh?

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><p><strong><em>Next Chapter: <em>**

_Sakura is not even given enough time to mourn the loss of her house and previous life before she is ushered off to Sand. But her reprieve in Suna can only last so long before reality comes crashing down and she is forced to face facts that will shatter her world. _

**_Chapter Twenty-Seven: Diplomacy_**

Time to see Gaara again!

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><p>Hope this was worth the wait, well at least kinda! See you soon, I PROMISE.<p> 


	27. Chapter 27: Diplomacy

I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. I've explained everything on my profile page, so if you're curious, go ahead and read it there. Onto the chapter!

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><p>Chapter Twenty-Seven: <em><span>Diplomacy<span>_

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><p>She was irritable. The sand kept getting in her eyes, this cloak was too damn heavy and she couldn't take it off, even though it was <em>unbearably<em> hot, this extra bundle was causing her front to be drenched in sweat, her arms were tired from holding said extra bundle- who knew Hajime had become so heavy? - and these past three days had been nothing short of _hell_. Besides, who wouldn't be constantly pissed off in her situation? Not only was she traveling through the desert with a baby, but she had to leave right in one of the most crucial moments of her entire life. Her house had just been burnt to the ground! She had so much she needed to do.

Wiping a hand over her brow, Sakura forced her feet forward. Sand was in her eyes, her ears, her hair, her mouth, in every article of clothing, and she was so _damn hot!_ Not to mention, walking through this sand was a _bitch_. Her foot kept slipping and if it wasn't for her chakra, she would have gone down in a heap a long time ago. Furthermore, she was ridiculously exhausted. Besides the regular tiring three day journey to Sand, she couldn't even sleep during her breaks. Instead, her mind worried about her house- or lack, thereof- and about all what she had to buy when she returned home.

Granted, all shinobi were insured by the village by attacks that damaged their personal belongings, so it wasn't like Sakura was super worried about the money aspect (and besides that, she was one of the highest paid shinobi in the village, and to her knowledge, Itachi _was_ the highest paid ANBU Captain in the village, plus he had the entire Uchiha Clan fortune to access; it wasn't like they were overly worried about the cost) but it was just the idea that she had lost _everything_. Her pictures, her clothes, her mementos- so much were precious to her and it was all gone.

Before leaving for Suna, Itachi, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Ino, and Hinata had gone through the rubble. Her entire basement was safe- nothing had been damaged in that. She had searched through her room rubble and could only find a few salvageable items. All of her clothes were gone, the majority of her pictures and books, and most of her make-up and jewelry. Her Team Seven photo had been damaged slightly, but it was still okay; her forehead protector was burnt pretty badly on one side, but the actual metal was safe; there were a few books that had remained untouched; two photo albums were a bit burnt, but still legible; and Hajime's baby book was mostly unscathed, besides a bit of water damage from their jutsus. Itachi's old forehead protector had remained in perfect condition, and the few pictures he had managed to find and keep from his old house were also in prime condition. Apparently, nothing had been damaged on Itachi's side of the room. The only other things Sakura was able to save were her weapons- they were quality made, so none of them were unusable, just a bit blackened with ash.

Of course, the lack of clothes for both of them was sort of a problem. She didn't have enough time to buy a new wardrobe (Naruto had offered to force the shinobi-clothes clerk to open his store early for Sakura, but she declined) so she had borrowed several outfits from Ino for her trip. It sucked not being able to dress professionally in her jounin vest or medical uniform when she was going on a diplomatic mission to such an important ally, but it couldn't be helped.

Itachi, Ino, Hinata, and Sasuke were supposed to be moving in what items they could to one of the Uchiha Compound buildings. Sakura had managed to see the house they would be living in before she departed- and it was beautiful. It was strikingly larger than her old house, with at least three bathrooms, nearly ten bedrooms, a ridiculously large kitchen, a separate dining room, and three living rooms. Sakura and Itachi had agreed to allow one of the living rooms be turned into Sakura's office and personal laboratory; another of the living rooms would be turned into a play area for Hajime and any future children, and then the last one would be used as a living room.

The house was apparently Shisui's old home; Sakura was worried Itachi would feel antsy living in the house of his deceased best friend, but Itachi seemed to relish in the familiarity of it. Of course, considering Itachi _hadn't_ killed Shisui (it was more like an assisted suicide), this was probably the one house that he didn't feel guilty in living in. Neither Uchiha boys enjoyed visiting their old home, despite the fact that it was the biggest of all the houses in the Compound. Sasuke had admitted that he would probably move into that house upon his marriage. Itachi, however, wanted nothing to do with that home. Too many painful memories, he had told her. But, Shisui's home seemed to be the second biggest house in the clan. She had asked Itachi about that, and he told her that Shisui was third in line to run the clan, should he or Sasuke have died. Because Shisui's father was Fugaku's little brother, they were in the direct line for running the clan. So, of course, they would have the second biggest house in the Compound. They were the second most important family.

"Hey, I see the gates." Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, gleefully looking up. She squinted through the sand and smiled wearily.

"It's not a mirage this time?" she asked her comrade hopefully.

"No, no mirage. It's real." She took a deep breath, releasing a long, thankful sigh. "Is Hajime going to be all right, by the way?" Sakura glanced down, but realized it was pointless considering she could only see a mop of black hair. Hajime was safely tucked underneath her cloak to protect him from the sand. However, she could feel his steady, deep breaths and knew he was fine.

"Yeah. I'll wake him up for good once we've settled into a room. I hate to keep knocking him out like this, but it's better than letting him get hurt through this heat and in this desert."

"How are you keeping him cool?"

"Chakra." She did hate to keep forcefully putting him to sleep with her chakra. But there was no way she could stop in the middle of the desert and nurse him. Not to say she hadn't fed him in the past three days- of course they stopped at night for her to nurse, and at certain times during the day- but she couldn't feed him every four hours like she usually did. Her breasts weren't happy about that, considering they were aching and leaking, but Sakura had to buck up and sacrifice her comfort.

They fell back into silence, walking towards the gates. As each step brought her closer, Sakura could only dream of taking a long, cool shower. It would be _heaven_. Her mouth was practically drooling at the idea. Besides, putting Hajime down would be a relief. He was seriously becoming a strain on her arms. This was why kunoichi mothers went on a long-term maternity leave after having children. At least a year, if not more. It wasn't practical to carry around a baby on missions. Plus, considering the fact that most kunoichi married/loved/dated other shinobi, the father of their child would be on just as many missions as the female. It was even more of a reason to give the mother a longer maternity leave.

They made it to the gates, and Sakura slumped against the wall, relishing in the shadow from the wall around the village. "Passport," the Suna guard remarked tonelessly, hardly glancing down at them. He looked pretty bored. Sakura had an odd sense of déjà vu, her mind recalling her previous mission to Suna three years back. Smirking lightly at the memories, she gestured for her partner to deal with the documentation. It was too hard to try and struggle for scrolls when carrying a child.

"We're from the Hidden Leaf Village. I am Sai and this is Sakura Haruno. We're here to meet with the Kazekage." As Sai spoke, he held out two different scrolls for the guard to inspect. However, upon recognizing Sakura's pink hair, he straightened up. Apparently, Sunagakure shinobi held her in high esteem. Not that she was complaining, though. Hopefully it meant that she'd get a faster shower. Seriously, she was drenched in sweat and sand.

"Of course, of course. Give me one second; I'll have someone escort you to the Kazekage immediately." He turned around to gesture to the other guard beside him. The man nodded and took off running into the village.

She snapped out of her daydream about showers, processing the guard's words. "Immediately?" Sakura couldn't hide the groan. The guard frowned at her, seemingly just noticing the extra-large bump underneath her cloak.

"Yes, he requested to see you as soon as you arrived. Miss Haruno, what exactly are you… holding?"

Her mood was now soured. Even more than before. "My son. You can peak down the cloak if you want to confirm it, but I can't take him out in this heat. He's just an infant." The guard cautiously looked down Sakura's cloak, and seeing the tuft of black hair, nodded. Sakura could still see the hesitation in his eyes, though, and knew he was debating on asking her to show him her child or not. Protocol would dictate that he search her and make sure it was not some package that could harm the village. However, this _was_ Sakura Haruno, a personal friend of the Kazekage and Kankuro; and the teammate of the Sixth Hokage. He couldn't be rude.

Sighing, she felt a twinge of guilt for placing him in such a rough spot. "Sai, open my cloak; you, stand close to look. I don't want Hajime injured by this wind or sand." Sai did as she asked and the guard gently placed a hand on Hajime's back, feeling him. Sakura could feel the slight chakra probe he used to make sure that Hajime was not a clone or elaborate genjutsu of some sort. Nodding to himself, he withdrew his hand, muttering a small apology. Sai closed Sakura's cloak while Sakura shrugged off the apology. Rules were rules. She understood.

They waited for a few more minutes before someone ran into sight. Sakura was actually expecting Matsuri or one of the other mundane Suna shinobi, and was genuinely surprised to see Temari. The wind mistress gestured for the two to follow her. Sai and Sakura did as she wished, and Sakura noted with growing resentment that they really _were_ going straight to the Kazekage Tower.

Once inside the tower and away from the sand, Sakura sighed in relief at the cool air. She immediately shifted Hajime to one arm and shrugged out of her cloak. Her top was soaked in sweat, her hair matted to her neck, and sand was covering every inch of her in some way or another. Sai wasn't looking too much better, either. Temari finally seemed to look over them, noting their haggard state, but shook her head.

"We don't have enough time to let you two wash-up; I'm sorry. Gaara has to see you two now, before the next meeting starts. Follow me." It didn't take long to make it up to Gaara's office. Temari knocked once and then let herself in without waiting for a reply. Sai and Sakura followed her.

As always, Gaara was looking composed and elegant—though there was a small furrow above the bridge of his nose. That his was only noticeable sign of frustration, and it immediately disappeared once he looked up at the group in his office. His perfect emotionless mask fell onto his face and he nodded his head in greeting at the three.

"I know you are exhausted from your journey," Gaara began, his eyes flickering down to Hajime and then right back up to Sakura's face, "so I will make this meeting quick. Within the next hour, I must meet with my council. They have already submitted a treaty proposition between our two villages. It is preposterous with the amount of fees and demands they want from your village. However, it would seem strange if I declined the proposition without a significant reason other than, 'That's not good for Konoha'. If you, however, were to decline this treaty now, it would force them to re-write a new one that is more reasonable. This will save us much time in the long run—if this one is submitted as the official treaty proposition we give to your village, you'll have a much harder time trying to argue through the clauses." Sakura nodded, following along despite her muggy brain. "So if you would be willing to look over this scroll and cross out which things you think are too extreme, it will give the council a better idea as to what to plan for." He held out the scroll to Sakura.

"Hold Hajime, Sai," Sakura commanded, shoving her sleeping baby at her teammate. Sai frowned, swallowing hard. "You're not going to break him. Just hold him against your chest. Gently now." He took the infant, staring down at the sleeping child. Sakura, seeing her baby in no immediate danger, glanced down at the scroll in hand. Her eyes skimmed over the words quickly; as she read, she took an ink-brush from Gaara's desk and began to mark out clauses.

"They want that much from us? Per _month?!_" There was a swift, thick black line through that. "Immediate response to any crisis. Hm, we'll have to discuss that. But it's pretty reasonable. I'll circle it." She was biting her lip in thought as she read over the scroll. A few more times, she drew black lines through things she didn't like, and other times, she circled parts of the scroll. If there was anything she didn't understand, she would underline it and place a question mark beside it. It took her about ten minutes to finally finish reading the scroll, but finally, she passed it back to Gaara, smiling.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama! You're a real lifesaver, you know."

"Just Gaara, Sakura. And it is the least I can do after your village, and Naruto, has helped us so much. I have no desire to take advantage of our relationship."

"And neither does he. He wants this treaty to be as beneficial and fair to both of our villages. That's why he sent me! I'm much too honest for my own good…" Sakura admitted, frowning in self-contemplation. She shook her head, smiling back up at the red-head. "I don't mean to be rude, but is that all you needed from us? We'd really like to wash up…"

Gaara's lips twitched in amusement as he nodded for finality. "That's all I needed. I'll be meeting with you soon enough. Temari will take you to your rooms. And Sakura," Sakura turned back around to face him, cocking her head curiously, "I trust that your journey went well? You were safe?" She nodded, biting her lip. "I will be watching out for you. I will not let anything befall you, or your son, when you are in my village." She smiled, knowing Naruto must have sent him a message explaining the attempt on her life. That boy was always looking out for her.

"Thank you, Gaara. I appreciate it." With that, Temari escorted the two nins out of the building. Sakura realized they were heading towards Gaara's personal home and began to protest, to which Temari waved her away dismissively.

"Would you not put me up in Naruto's personal home? You're just as important to this village as I am to yours. Besides Shikamaru, you're the official Suna liaison from Konoha. And a personal friend to this village." Grinning, Temari made an off-hand comment, sure to make Sakura blush, "Besides, if you hadn't hooked up with that _dashing_ ANBU member and had his son, I'm sure there would have been a proposition of marriage between you and Gaara. To 'strengthen' ties and whatnot. Gaara wouldn't have minded, I'm sure." Sure enough, Sakura's face erupted into flames.

"Temari, I seriously doubt Gaara would have ever wanted to marry me! He has a plethora of Sand kunoichi to pick from. And I know many of them devotedly love him. Like Matsuri!" Temari rolled her eyes at the name.

"Just because Matsuri loves Gaara doesn't mean that Gaara loves Matsuri. Gaara is much more attracted to strength—both physical and of character. Matsuri is lacking in both categories." She opened the door, holding it open for the two Konoha nins. Sakura and Sai walked through, looking around Gaara's grand mansion. "Your rooms are on the second floor. Follow me." They walked behind Temari, still taking in the sights.

After a few seconds of silence, Sakura continued their previous conversation: "So you mean Matsuri and Gaara have no chance in the future?" Temari grimly shook her head.

"While he always appreciated her devotion, he never returned her feelings. It eventually led to an explosive confrontation a few years ago; Matsuri demanding to know why he didn't love her. Gaara sent her on a long-term mission in response to it. Matsuri hasn't been back to Suna for almost two years now. Ah, this room is yours, Sai." Temari gestured to the door beside Sai's. "That one is yours, Sakura. Gaara's room is on the other side of yours. My room is across the hall. And Kankuro's is beside my room. Every room has their own personal bathroom attached. One of the maids will bring up supper when it's done."

"I'm sorry to hear about Matsuri, though." Temari shrugged. "Are we to meet with Gaara again tonight?"

"Probably not. He'll simply talk to you when he gets home. Kankuro and I have a mission tonight, so I won't be able to escort you around like usual. We'll send a genin or a chuunin over if you need something, though. But you remember most of the locations in this village, right?" Sakura smiled and nodded. "Good. You two should be fine. I'll let you rest up; but when I get back after my mission, I want to be properly introduced to your son. He looks adorable."

Sakura beamed, looking down at Hajime. "Of course. Good luck on your mission!" Temari smirked and shook her head.

"No luck needed! Be good and have fun!" Sai and Sakura retreated into their respective rooms as Temari disappeared down the hallway. Taking a deep breath once the door closed, Sakura laid Hajime down on her bed, making sure he was still asleep. Then she withdrew her sealing scroll, and unsealed her bag of clothes and diaper bag.

She wrinkled her nose at seeing Ino's clothes—geez, she hated sharing underwear, even if Ino swore that she had never worn those specific ones before—and withdrew an outfit. At least Ino had given her clothes that didn't seem too out of character for her to wear. The shorts, a bit shorter than what Sakura usually wore, were black, and the tank-top was white. Ino had even packed her some mesh tops to go over the tank-top. She couldn't complain. Still, she didn't have a jounin vest, which would probably look pretty odd. Maybe Sai had packed a spare one she could borrow... Sighing, Sakura ran a hand through her hair, her lip curling into a snarl as sand fell out of her locks and landed on her clean clothes. She promptly turned on her heel, heading to the bathroom.

The bathroom wasn't super big, but it was decently sized. Sakura wasted no time in climbing into the shower and washing all the sand, dirt, and grime off of her. Once she felt clean again (after using about a half a bar of soap), she dressed in her clothes and walked back to her bed. This time, she woke Hajime up with a small touch of chakra, and gently carried him to the sink to be washed. Her son watched her with large, black eyes. However, he made no sound—not in pleasure or fear—as the water brushed against his sweaty skin. After bathing him and changing him into a spare outfit that had been stored at Ino's house, she finally sat down to nurse him properly.

Once he was fed, both mother and son quickly fell asleep, too tired to play or think of anything else.

* * *

><p>"Itachi, Sasuke, how is everything going with the house?" Naruto asked casually, looking down at a few scrolls on his desk. It was a wreck—scrolls and folders were spread out everywhere, stacks and stacks of paper beside his desk and on the corners. There was a half-eaten bowl of ramen balancing precariously on the edge of the desk—apparently, even Naruto was too busy to eat, sometimes. Sasuke had to sidestep a pile of scrolls on the floor to even get to Naruto's desk; and even then, he was forced to push another stack of reports out of the way to even see the blonde.<p>

The two brothers shrugged in response to Naruto's question, though Sasuke went ahead and answered, "We're making progress. Ino and Hinata helped pick out some new clothes for Sakura, while Itachi and I focused on furnishing the house. We just hope Sakura likes the decorating. We've finished moving all her belongings from the old house and we've gotten an entire new wardrobe for Hajime. We've all scrubbed everything and dusted and whatnot. We're pretty much done, except maybe a few more personal touches from Sakura, like painting and stuff. But it's now completely habitable. We even bought food and have appliances working."

"Good. Then would you be adverse to the idea of going on a mission? Both of you, I mean." They frowned and Naruto glanced up, pausing in mid-stroke of signing something, seeing their hesitant expressions. "You'll be back before Sakura gets home, if that's what you're worried about." It seemed to be the right thing to say as both brothers nodded. Naruto grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "Awesome! Okay, well, remember that jutsu trade thing?"

"How could we forget?" Sasuke dryly replied.

"Well, we got a reply back from the message Itachi sent. Apparently, they have some sort of notification base in Earth Country. I want you two to go check it out. This scroll has the coordinates where it should be. You two are to do nothing more than reconnaissance. If you find something worthwhile, report straight to Sand and deliver the message to Gaara. He has all the information about the jutsu trade now. We want the report as up to date as possible." Both brothers nodded. "I expect that there should be no problems from the two of you, but just in case, Itachi is Captain on this mission. Since he does rank higher than you, bastard," Naruto snickered, his eyes glinting at Sasuke in a challenge.

"Shut-up, dead last."

"Ah-ah," Naruto tsked, waving his ink brush in Sasuke's face (nearly painting the bridge of Sasuke's nose in the process), "you can't say that to me anymore. I'm the _Hokage_. I am your superior in every single way. Hehehehe," he cackled. Sasuke glared, as he pushed the ink brush away, scowling when Naruto still managed to get some of the ink on his face.

"When are we to leave?" Itachi interrupted, getting the two back on track. Naruto sighed, switching gears.

"Yeah. Leave tomorrow." He nodded to himself, as if confirming the date in his mind. "Yup. Definitely tomorrow. At dawn, preferably." Sighing, he leaned on his palm, frowning. "You see, this jutsu trade thing is becoming a bit tedious. We've been investigating it for over two years. Yet we still can't seem to pin them down. Every time we get close, they just disappear. That's why it's become an international issue between the other villages. We know they're planning something big, that they have some sort of super awesome jutsu, but we just can't find out what it is. We're pretty sure it was stolen from Mist, though… So you two," Naruto perked up, grinning, "do something good and get me some awesome information! All right, that's it. Here's the scroll. Now get lost!" he said this last statement with a smile and a laugh, sticking his tongue out at the two brothers. Sasuke gave a mock glare, while Itachi quirked an eyebrow but gave a small half-grin at the Hokage's antics. He picked up the scroll and left the room first, Sasuke following behind him.

Once outside the building, Itachi turned towards his brother. "I expect you to be ready at the gates tomorrow at dawn. We shall leave and make this mission fast. Needless to say, I'd like to be home before Sakura returns to Konoha."

"Of course, _Captain_," Sasuke responded sardonically, rolling his eyes. Itachi ignored his brother, turning his attention elsewhere. Sasuke followed the direction of Itachi's eyes to see his genin team approaching them. He straightened up, stopping to talk to the three. After all, they rarely sought him out (usually, they went for Sakura, considering she was far nicer out of the two of them). Fuuka, Hideyo, and Akihiko stopped before him, frowning in thought.

"Sasuke-sensei," Fuuka began, oddly hesitant, "we've been working on our teamwork like Sakura-sensei told us to, but…"

"We're still having problems. Can you help us train?" Hideyo finished. Sasuke gazed up at the sky taking into account how much time he had left in the day and how much time he needed to prepare for his mission. He figured he had enough time to spend a few hours with his team. After all, they were going to be participating in their first Chuunin Exams within two months. And he absolutely would not allow any of his team to fail. That was completely unacceptable—it would make him look like a failure as a sensei, and Sasuke Uchiha _never_ failed.

That made his mind up. He still had enough time to give them one last impromptu training session. "Yes. I will only be able to train for a few hours, though, because I have a mission in the morning." The team nodded, breaking out into smiles. Itachi, who had been watching the interaction silently, turned to Sasuke.

"I will help you train with them," he finally spoke. Sasuke immediately frowned, expecting Itachi's motives to be less than helpful. He assumed his brother was doing this as a way to judge and criticize his teaching methods. Itachi saw this in his brother's expression and shook his head. "Sometimes it is good to have another instructor to help. A new teacher can provide a new perspective that they might not have thought of before. Besides, it can only help them to face an elite shinobi." Sasuke grudgingly agreed, still frowning. His team looked both ecstatic and apprehensive at the extra help.

Their training grounds were empty and Sasuke gestured for his team to form up. He looked at Itachi, raising an eyebrow. Itachi stood across from the team, his pose relaxed.

"Sasuke, watch their movements and look for their weaknesses while I spar with them." Sasuke glowered, disliking how his brother was taking over the training. He was feeling extraordinarily insecure with his brother breathing down his neck—but then he remembered all the times he had wanted his brother to help him train. Maybe this was Itachi's way at making up for their childhood. Sasuke's tense shoulders relaxed at that thought. Itachi noticed, and sent Sasuke a tiny smile, and then turned towards the three genin. "Are you ready?"

"You're Sakura-sensei's boyfriend, right?" Fuuka blurted out, chewing on her lip nervously. Itachi blinked, but nodded lightly. "So you're Hajime's father… You're Arata Genji…"

"Yes. We've met before," Itachi replied, giving a polite smile. However, the three seemed suddenly petrified at the thought of going against him.

"You're Naruto-sama's personal guard. You're an ANBU. We don't stand a chance… Sakura-sensei can't even beat you…" Akihiko remarked, swallowing hard.

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. "Your goal is not to defeat me. Your goal is to perfect your teamwork and to try and predict your opponent's movements. I outrank you; however, as shinobi, you will often find yourselves fighting an enemy that is far stronger than you. Sometimes the goal is not to win or defeat your enemy, but to simply survive and escape. You cannot accomplish this without calmly evaluating your enemy." The three gave a hesitant nod, clearly nervous, but they lowered themselves into fighting positions. Itachi asked them again if they were ready; this time, they nodded.

Itachi moved first, vanishing out of sight. His speed was incredible. Fuuka panicked, automatically throwing her arms up to guard her face. Hideyo tackled her to the side, being the one to expect Itachi to attack her. Akihiko used the time to try and execute a jutsu against Itachi. However, the skilled shinobi appeared in front of the Akihiko, swiftly bringing his kunai down in what would usually be a killing strike. Akihiko's pupils dilated at the blade grazing against his jugular.

Fuuka, having recovered her senses, attacked Itachi with a kunai, deflecting his kunai to the side. She was the fastest out of the bunch; even Itachi was decently surprised at her speed. However, he wasted no time in knocking the blade out of her hands and kicking her to the ground. Hideyo and Akihiko attacked from both sides, trying to distract Itachi's attention.

He allowed himself to be "distracted", whirling around and kicking Hideyo in the chest, then ducking Akihiko's fist. He grabbed the boy's leg, tossing him into Hideyo. Fuuka rose up, trying to regain Itachi's attention. He kneed her in the stomach, the force practically knocking her unconscious, then grabbed her shoulders and threw her away from him. Fuuka rolled across the ground several times, gasping for breath.

Hideyo and Akihiko had struggled to their feet, both panting. However, they seemed to have formed some sort of plan as Hideyo's hands glowed with a chakra scalpel (Itachi gave a mental grin, the move reminding him of Sakura) while Akihiko began to form seals for a jutsu. Itachi immediately recognized the Earth Style hand signs and, while he did know some Lightning Style jutsu that would be able to disable their moves, decided to counter with his own jutsu. Flaming shuriken flew from his mouth, and for once, the team did not freeze in surprise. Immediately Fuuka leapt to her feet, throwing an array of shuriken and kunai to deflect Itachi's projectiles.

While she was able to deflect several of his shuriken, she could not stop all of them. Hideyo, however, used his chakra blades to knock the rest of them away from Akihiko. This gave Akihiko enough time to finish his jutsu. Slamming his hands to the ground, he turned the ground into mud. Itachi nimbly dodged the jutsu, practically flying into the air. Yet, once more, the team had surprised him. They had thought out their moves and finally seemed to be thinking one step ahead. Fuuka was flung upwards by Hideyo's chakra-enhanced strength (a technique that seemed to leave him winded) and a Chidori sizzled in Fuuka's hand as she came spiraling towards him. He glanced down at Sasuke, giving his brother a nonplussed look for teaching his student the jutsu. Sasuke smirked in response.

If the team were fighting against other genin, the combo would surely be effective. But Itachi was no genin and was able to nimbly avoid the jutsu, twisting his body in mid-air. At the same time, he turned far enough to kick Fuuka in the back, sending her spiraling to the ground. The Chidori crackled and fizzled out of existence as she plummeted downwards. Akihiko managed to break her fall, catching her limp form. Hideyo knelt down, trying to concentrate and heal her. Akihiko was left to defend the two.

Itachi landed on both feet gracefully, gazing calmly at the panting and weakened team. He brushed a strand of hair away from his face; that was the last move Akihiko registered before Itachi was in front of his face, a kunai gently sliding against his cheek. Immediately, the boy broke out into a cold sweat, though he locked eyes with Itachi fearlessly. His jaw was clenched and Itachi could see him swallow hard.

He closed his eyes and attacked the older man, trying to push his kunai away. Itachi retaliated and stabbed the boy (shallowly, barely sinking the blade in) in his shoulder, making sure not to hit any serious muscle. His eyes glazed over in pain as he staggered a few steps, finally falling to his feet. Itachi was relentless, though, and wanted to give them the feeling that everything was hopeless. It would be the best strategy to make them work together and get creative in trying to defeat him. He quickly kicked Akihiko across the field, knowing he had to have bruised a rib or two in the boy. Akihiko groaned weakly, curling his fingers around his sides, holding his ribs.

By this point, though, Fuuka and Hideyo were back on their feet. Both looked weary, but glancing at their other teammate, Fuuka nodded for Hideyo to go and heal Akihiko. She was left to face Itachi alone. She charged at Itachi, drawing a kunai. Even without his Sharingan activated, Itachi could still see the light glinting off the strings tied around the edges of her kunai. He knew what she was planning and waited for her to try the attack. As he expected, she began to toss kunai around him, all of which he easily avoided. The kunai, though, seemed to have some sort of chakra implanted within them causing them to return to her hands. She continued to toss the kunai around and around him, finally smirking when the four kunai were back at her side.

With a few hand signs, she sent electrical charges surging through the lines. If he hadn't expected the move (after all, it was clearly a move from Sasuke), it would have been devastating. However, he had made sure to stay out of the wires and once the jutsu started, it was a simple task to cut one wire and slip away from the electrical cage she had created. Itachi was impressed with the ability she had with her elemental jutsu—most genin were not so skilled with an element—but it was not enough to save her.

Itachi rushed towards her, kicking her up into the air, then appearing above her and kicking her back into the ground. Fuuka landed with a rough crunch, groaning. Her teammates stumbled to her side, trying to protect her. Akihiko was pale and sweating from pain. Hideyo had been able to heal the stab wound, but not fix his teammate's injured ribs completely. The amount of healing had seemed to take its own toll on Hideyo. He was breathing heavily, his chakra blades flickering and wavering with weak chakra. Fuuka was struggling to get back to her feet, though with the way her legs were trembling, she would not be standing long. This fight was nearly over.

The three looked at each other, seemingly wanting to make one last stand. All three began a series of hand seals. Itachi knew he would easily be able to stop them from their jutsu, but decided he wanted to see what their final jutsu would be. So he waited, watching them carefully. The seals were not something he recognized, so he could only assume that the team had created their own jutsu. That was usually pretty something dangerous—but he was confident enough in his and Sasuke's abilities that they would prevent any sort of damage caused by a faulty jutsu.

Sure enough, they had created a new jutsu. Akihiko was the first to finish, aiming his hands in a triangle shape as he focused on Itachi. An Earth Style jutsu formed in the triangle, brown mud gathering into a tiny ball that steadily grew larger with each passing second. He continued to focus, while Fuuka seemed to begin the next phase of their jutsu. Electricity gathered at her fingertips, making them glow a pale blue. Finally, Hideyo seemed to be the spark they needed. His jutsu was clearly a genjutsu of some sort. Curiosity getting the best of him, Itachi let himself be lulled into the illusion.

It was carefully weaved, made to look as if their jutsu was failing and had backfired on them. Now understanding what the purpose of their jutsu was, Itachi dispelled the genjutsu, watching as the three finally combined their attacks. Akihiko sent his earthball flying towards him, with Fuuka shooting the electricity out of her fingertips like long threads, weaving around the ball. Hideyo seemed to be following up behind them with his chakra scalpels.

In all honesty, it was an impressive technique. If the genjutsu succeeded, there would be no way that any other team could deflect the other blows. The three shinobi would hit their targets in succession, easily defeating their opponents. However, if the genjutsu didn't work, then the move was simply a waste of chakra. In this case, it was a waste of chakra. Itachi dodged the earth ball and electric threads, quickly appearing behind Hideyo and disabling the medic. Hideyo fell to the ground with a thump, unconscious. As Itachi went to simultaneous knock Akihiko and Fuuka out, he was again surprised to see that their jutsu had other tricks attached to it. The earth ball did not stay on one path, but instead, the electric strings seemed to control it and allow it to swing around towards the target.

Using this fact to his advantage, Itachi led the jutsu towards the two kids. They were too focused to realize what he was doing and once they realized, it was too late. Their jutsu made contact, blowing both of them back into the ground. As the dust settled, Itachi had appeared back at Sasuke's side.

"They are much more skilled than I expected. They have quite an array of jutsu and techniques."

"We try to keep them well-rounded," Sasuke replied. They waited for all three to regain consciousness; it took quite a few minutes, but Sasuke and Itachi passed the time by discussing what the other had noticed during the fight. Finally, the three genin stumbled in front of them, all leaning on one another. Sasuke nodded at them, sizing each one up in his mind. Itachi's face was carefully blank, as always.

"I'll start with each person and then move on to teamwork. Arata will make his own comments after I do." Sasuke's piercing black eyes focused on Akihiko. "Your jutsus are powerful; your reaction time is good; and you have a good endurance and stamina. However, your hand signs are too slow and too easy to read; you leave yourself open when you're performing any jutsu; and you don't plan quickly enough or plan far enough ahead." Sasuke turned to Fuuka next.

"You're speed is fairly exceptional for your age and rank. Your Electric Element jutsu is powerful and you have an array of techniques. You also are able to plan enough to try and trap your opponent. However, you are quick to panic in any situation; you are limited to solely electric jutsu, so if you were to face a Wind Element user, your jutsu would be useless; and your other skills are poorly lacking." His eyes shifted to Hideyo.

"You were the one to make most of the plans, which were all decent. Your medical ninjutsu is extremely valuable as you were able to keep your teammates conscious. Your genjutsu ability is above average, as well. However, you lack speed and dodging ability—skills that are essential for a medic. You were also not able to place your genjutsu on undetected. Finally, you do not have enough chakra reserves to do multiple healings and still fight. You strain yourself quickly." All three nodded, while Sasuke turned his gaze towards Itachi. He said nothing. Sasuke frowned lightly, but turned his focus back to his team.

"As for your teamwork, it has greatly improved. However, you three still have a tendency to either attack one at a time, or two at a time. You need to coordinate your attacks with each other and attack at the same time. Furthermore, your team jutsu needs desperate work. It leaves all of you open to attack and it takes too long to execute, besides the fact that it's very obvious as to what you're doing. All of you have unique skills that can be highly useful if executed properly. Fuuka, your Electric Element jutsus are what you are best at. Hideyo, your medical scalpels and genjutsu are also your best techniques. Akihiko, you are very well-rounded and able to defend and attack. You three should plan a way to coordinate your techniques in such a way to use your strengths to your advantage, while trying to compensate for your weaknesses."

"How do we do that, though, Sasuke-sensei?" Akihiko asked, frowning in contemplation.

"I may be able to help," Itachi interjected before Sasuke could open his mouth. "Sasuke and I will demonstrate some jutsu to help you, and give you exact pointers on how to arrange yourselves in your teams. We can also show you an example of wordless teamwork—though, in all honesty, the best team in the entire village is Team Seven. So you should probably ask Sakura and Sasuke to demonstrate their team dynamics at some point. But, I am willing to teach you some jutsu that you may find useful." All of them nodded, eager to learn more from the ANBU member.

They worked for hours with the team. It was well after sunset when Sasuke finally called it quits and told his team to go home and rest. However, their progress was astounding. The three had been extremely attentive and responsive to the new jutsus. Itachi had aided Fuuka in manipulating her weapons with chakra strings, while keeping her speed fast and aim accurate. Sasuke had helped her manipulate her electric chakra into nets and thinner wires, able to shoot off tiny sparks of electricity up to a five centimeter range.

For Akihiko, Itachi had given him pointers on his taijutsu, teaching him several new combos. He had also taught him speed up his hand signs so that it would be difficult reading the signs without any sort of eye jutsu or bloodline limit, assuming that Akihiko continued to practice. Sasuke had also helped Akihiko increase his speed and reaction time, and instructed him on how to execute jutsu without leaving himself defenseless and in the open.

As for Hideyo, since neither man could use medical ninjutsu for offensive purposes, they focused on Hideyo's other skills. Itachi aided him in creating different genjutsu and taught him how to execute them faster, without dropping his guard. He even taught him how to cause a person to enter into a genjutsu with a single touch and no hand seals, though it was a relatively simple genjutsu. Sasuke and Itachi also focused heavily on increasing his speed, flexibility, dodging skills, and reaction time.

Finally, they aided the team by helping them communicate with each other without the need for words. They showed them how to stand and defend one another when one of their members was performing a jutsu; how to defend Hideyo and his patient, should one of them be injured; how to execute their team jutsu faster and not out in the open; and finally, taught them several taijutsu combos to perform all together. When the extra-long training session had ended, all three genin were barely able to stand on their feet. They were drained of chakra, covered in bruises, and had cramped muscles. Sasuke told all of them to go home and rest; he told them the next training session would take place once Sakura returned home and until then, they were to practice everything they had been taught. As one last assignment, Sasuke told them to go to the library and study tactics and make mock plans and situations to help them improve on thinking on their feet and their planning ability.

With the genin gone, Sasuke and Itachi both made their way back to the Uchiha Compound. Sasuke was the first to start the conversation, asking Itachi: "Have you ever thought about taking on a genin team?" Itachi shook his head, frowning lightly.

"Not at the moment. I often feel that my skills are more useful elsewhere. However, since I do have a son now, maybe it would be a smarter and safer choice to reduce the number of dangerous missions I partake in. I have no desire to leave Sakura a single mother."

"If either of you were to die, who is supposed to take care of your son?"

"Despite the fact that you are not Hajime's godfather, direct care would fall to you. Being a master of the Sharingan, you would have to train him when he became of age. If you were to die, the responsibility falls to Naruto. After that, I believe Sakura has arranged for Ino to raise him, while Kakashi would train him. This is the way it would be for all our children. And you?"

"The same. You and Sakura would get care of my children, and then Naruto. After that… I suppose Kakashi." There was a grim twist to Sasuke's face as he pondered the idea of Kakashi raising his children. He clearly did not like to picture it. "Well, this is where we split. I've got to get everything together for the mission tomorrow."

"Of course. Good night, Sasuke."

"Good night, nii-san." The use of the familiar title that Sasuke had called him as a child drew a small smile to Itachi's face. Before they could turn completely away, Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead with two fingers, his grin growing as Sasuke pouted and rubbed his forehead. The two brothers split ways, heading towards their separate homes in the deathly quiet Uchiha Compound. However, despite the fact that the Uchiha Compound's stifling silence typically disturbed Itachi, he did not feel that way on this night.

For once, as he walked, he kept his small smile. If he closed his eyes, he could practically feel the past, happy times at his fingertips in this place. He could remember the warm, comforting smells, the cheerful voices and greetings, the bustling activity. He could almost hear Shisui's grinning voice as he flickered into existence directly in front of Itachi, demanding to know his cousin's newest mission. He could almost smell his mother's delectable food, waiting for him as he stepped through the threshold of his door. He could practically taste the steaming green tea she always made specifically for him, to help relax his aching muscles. He could nearly see his younger brother barreling towards him, throwing himself around Itachi's waist. He could virtually _feel_ his family beside him—Sasuke gripping his hand and dragging him towards the table; his mother brushing back his bangs while asking how his latest mission went; his father's hand on his shoulder as he nodded in approval at the sight of no injuries on his son's person; and Shisui's fingers clasping around the back of his shirt, tugging for him to come closer so Shisui could whisper some dirty joke into his ear.

It all seemed so close, so _real_, that when Itachi slid open the door to Shisui's old house and saw none of that, he felt as if he had just had cold water splashed on him, waking him from a deep sleep. Closing the door behind him, Itachi padded into the house, desperately wishing for Sakura to return home quickly. He needed her bubbly personality to warm this place and help him forget the tantalizing views of the past; to help him forget the sins he had committed.

* * *

><p>Sakura opened the bedroom door, grinning when she saw the red-haired Kazekage standing outside in the hallway. He looked rather tired, but he greeted her with a small smile and a polite hello. Sakura returned his sentiments, asking if he would like to come in. Sai was already in the room, sitting on her bed with Hajime, staring confusedly at the baby. Gaara acquiesced, seemingly feeling slightly awkward about being in the bedroom with her, but walked in, standing across from her bed.<p>

"What's up?" she asked him, settling down on the bed next to Sai. He withdrew a scroll, handing it to her.

"I'd appreciate it if you could read over this scroll before tomorrow. This is the new drafted version of our treaty with Konoha. Tomorrow, we'll speak over all the terms and come to a concrete agreement. It'd be better, though, if you had a good idea of what things you want to keep in this proposal, and which things you'd like to change." Sakura nodded, opening the scroll and scanning over the words.

"This looks a thousand times better than the previous treaty."

"I thought you would say that," Gaara gave a small smile. "Tomorrow, we'll be in meetings all day, though. I would appreciate it if you could come to my office by seven-thirty. I'd like to discuss everything with you beforehand so that we are on the same page. It'll be better that way when we face the elders."

"Of course. May I bring my son with me?" She could see the twitch of hesitation flicker on Gaara's face. "He's very quiet," Sakura continued. Part of the reason she had even brought her son was to play on the emotional strings of the Sand elders.

"As long as you can keep him quiet, it is acceptable." Gaara paused for a second before asking a hesitant question: "…He is Itachi's son, yes?" Sai's eyes widened in surprise at hearing Gaara speak about the true identity of Hajime's father. Sakura smiled lightly, nodding. "Of course, that is not something publicly known, is it?" Sakura shook her head, a cloud of emotion sparking in her eyes. Both Sai and Gaara noted her hardened expression. Her lips thinned as she opened her mouth to explain something, but hesitated, frowning.

"Those who need to know who Hajime's father is, know. Everyone else is under the impression that it is Arata. Of course…" she stopped, biting her lip.

"Eventually, they will realize that it cannot be the case," Gaara supplied, looking down at the infant. Hajime was awake, his black eyes gazing restlessly around the room. Though Gaara had not been able to get a close look at the famed Itachi Uchiha during the few times they had met (typically, he was always in his alter-ego disguise), he could tell from the baby's eyes that he had inherited his father's legendary gaze. There was something in the obsidian orbs of the child that screamed "prodigy". They were the same black Uchiha eyes that would eventually bleed crimson, thus illustrating his true birthright.

Sakura spoke softly, "You are correct." Her finger slipped into Hajime's hand, which immediately curled around the digit. "Soon enough, he will activate his Sharingan and then there will be no hiding the truth that he is an Uchiha." The same tightness of Sakura's face was present again as she looked down at her son. She could only wonder which parent was doing the wrong thing at the moment. Was she wrong for wishing for her son to be able to embrace his heritage without shame, to be raised without any doubt that he was the heir to the prestigious Uchiha Clan? Or was Itachi wrong for wanting to spare his child the unbearable fate of being raised as an Uchiha, for wanting to keep his child from being associated with the clan of hate and lies and blood? Sakura was trying to prevent all of their reputations from being ruined before Hajime activated his Sharingan. Once that happened, everyone would automatically assume that she had slept with Sasuke. Their reputation—hers, Sasuke's, Itachi's, even Naruto's—would be damaged. And her son would be teased for being a love child and a bastard child and…—she couldn't let Hajime face that sort of bullying.

But Itachi was always five steps ahead of everyone. He had already thought of this, she knew, and was withholding his identity for some other purpose that he was refusing to tell her. Maybe it was because of the other Kages. Or maybe it was due to his previous association in Akatsuki. It could even be because he knew his son might be mistreated because, even if everyone knew that Itachi killed his clan under orders from the village, it didn't change the fact that he _had_ slaughtered his _entire_ clan. Hajime could still be ostracized for that.

"In due time," Gaara began softly, staring down at the boy, "everything will work out. With your son, with Itachi, and with this jutsu trade. I have learned that no matter the situation, there is a solution at the end. It may be brought about with pain and hardships, but it is well worth it at the end." Sakura frowned, wondering about Gaara's words. Sure, he was right, but the way he reduced everything to such simple terms didn't make it any easier to stomach.

Of course, Gaara had lived a much harder life than she could even imagine. From being so severely hated and neglected as a child, to being raised as a blood-thirsty killer and weapon as a teen, to eventually rising to the ranks of the Kazekage in three short years, then having his one-tailed beast ripped out of him in an excruciating process that led to his death, to eventually becoming Regimental Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, and again nearly dying at the hands of Madara Uchiha during the war… He had fought, and lived through, his share of hardships. And he was the same age as her. But he had lived through so much more than she could even begin to imagine.

Maybe she did have something to learn from the red-haired Kazekage. His words did hold depth and meaning in them. Gaara was right. Her situation would eventually turn around, some conclusion would be drawn with her child, she would have some closure with the entire situation between her and Itachi—it was all a matter of waiting and going through whatever was to come. Sakura could handle that, though. She could bear it all if it meant giving Itachi a fulfilling and happy life. Wasn't that her original goal when she revived him? A second chance? She still had that goal, and she had promised so long ago that she would never force him to reveal his true identity if he didn't want to.

Matters were slightly more complicated now that they had a child in the mix, but the general principle stayed true. She would never make him to reveal what he didn't want to. Sakura had to remain true to her word.

"You're right," she softly spoke, smiling at Gaara. "Yes, you're right. Everything will work out in the end. No use fretting about it when there are more pressing issues to attend to. After all, it'll be quite a few years before Hajime ever activates his Sharingan." She withdrew her finger from her child's hand and turned to Gaara, causing him to turn to her and give her his full attention. "About this jutsu trade, when would you like to discuss that? I have quite a bit of information from the Hidden Leaf surrounding the criminal activity." Gaara nodded.

"If you would like, I will take your scroll for now and begin to compile it into one solid document. We will not discuss the jutsu trade, though, until we have worked out our treaty with Konoha." She smiled and nodded, withdrawing the scroll from her bag, handing it to Gaara. He nodded gratefully, pocketing it into his vest.

"Remember, seven thirty tomorrow in my office. Have a good night, Sakura." He slipped out of the door, leaving Sai, Sakura, and Hajime alone in silence. Sakura glanced at her partner, who was now gazing at her. His eyes were narrowed and she could feel him thinking something about her. As it was, Sai was the man, besides Itachi, who knew more about her than anyone. They had always been close—in a way that she wasn't with Naruto. Naruto was her best friend, no doubt, but she had a special relationship with Sai. It was possibly based on the idea that no matter what she did, she knew he would always see the truth in her actions. He always saw what she wanted no one else to see.

He was the first one to realize her destructive training habits when she was depressed. He was the one to take her virginity. He was the one to spur her to try and stop Naruto from catching Sasuke when they were younger (she inwardly winced at that, remembering that painfully fake love confession she had made to Naruto afterwards). Sai always saw everything.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, trying to keep the wariness and defensiveness out of her voice. She just had that feeling that he was going to tell her something she was not going to like.

"I've been thinking over this during our journey to Sand, and I believe that you have been pressuring Itachi into revealing his true identity to the village." Sakura visibly flinched, swallowing hard. "Despite the fact that it was agreed upon at the time that you revealed his identity to us that he would have the final choice in whenever he chose to reclaim his former life." She felt her jaw clench and her hands tighten into fists that turned her knuckles white. "I've also been musing over the fact that Itachi was raised in a very strict clan with high moral codes."

"So?" Sakura replied tersely. Sai's eyes flickered towards Hajime and then back at Sakura.

"As a clan heir, especially, he would have been raised to be married before ever having a child. This leads me to the conclusion that he has tried to marry you in the past and you have rejected his proposals. And knowing you as I do, you have every desire and intention to marry him. Meaning the only reason you are refusing his marriage proposals is because you wish to have him reveal his true identity before you wed." She knew she had turned pale, knew that her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingernails were probably going to draw blood soon, knew that the small trembles in her body gave her true thoughts away to Sai.

She tried to deflect the subject, retorting, "How is this any of your business?" No one, not even Sasuke, knew about Sakura rejecting Itachi's marriage proposals. Everyone assumed that they had both agreed not to wed yet because of Itachi, not her.

Sai shrugged, leaning back against her pillows. "It's not. However, as I have done in the past, I will point out something if you're causing pain to another person. Much like Naruto's promise to you that caused him so much pain, this is very similar. If you're not careful, you'll drive him away. No man is infinitely patient." Sakura looked down, having no words to defend herself. Sai was, of course, _right_. But the last time she had tried to fix these sorts of problems, she just made it worse.

"…I'll think about it," Sakura finally said, running her hands through her hair. "I… I can't just abandon my reasons so quickly. I want to marry him, but I want to make sure our son is raised in a healthy environment without constant lies. Lies grate on a person and I don't want that with my son." Sai nodded, standing from the bed.

She looked up at him, looking quite worn around the edges. Sai sighed quietly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It is between you and Itachi. You two will have to talk about it soon enough. But now that you're living in the Uchiha Compound, maybe it'll become easier for him to embrace his past identity, and maybe it'll be easier for you to embrace the pain he's trying to ease himself from. Give him time, Sakura. He has his own share of problems to work out and, speaking from experience from being a former Root member, it takes time to adapt to a new lifestyle." She nodded.

"Right. Yeah. You're right." Knowing he had left her with enough to think about for the night, he nodded his farewell to her, and then slipped out of the room with a quiet "goodnight". Sakura was too lost in her thoughts to properly respond. Instead, she cuddled up to Hajime, rocking the baby to sleep. Knowing she would get a mostly sleepless night, she read over the Konoha-Suna treaty and tried to escape from her thoughts on Itachi and his proposals and the future of her son.

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><p>They both scanned the area, one pair of bright crimson eyes and one pair of seemingly glowing purple-blue eyes. One hand silently rose and gestured to a point far in the distance. The blue eyes narrowed on the building being pointed at, finally nodding. Both men jumped from their perches on the tree, going separate directions without any need for communication.<p>

It took about four minutes for both to reach the building; it took another three for them to take out the guards on their respective sides, and two more minutes for them to meet each other after carefully examining their sides of the building.

Again, no words were necessary as both brothers slid into the stone building, warily gliding through the hallways, alert and tense for any type of movement. The few guards they met were swiftly knocked out silently, and the two continued as if shadows. They avoided all traps, thanks to their eyes, and when they finally found a hallway filled with nothing but locked doors, they knew this was probably where all the information they were looking for was stored.

They split ways to investigate each side of the hallway. It took a few minutes and several doors before one of them found something worthwhile.

"Sasuke, come here," Itachi called, holding several folders in one hand. "I have information." He handed the folders to Sasuke, who opened one folder and began scanning over the papers. Every sheet of paper had nothing except coordinates and cities listed, with small numbers beside them. It took him a few seconds to realize that the small numbers were how many members of the jutsu trade group were stationed in that area. But they now knew exactly where all of the group's bases were located. The second folder had lists of jutsus with areas of where to obtain the forbidden techniques. Some were crossed off the list and others had small notes written beside them, like: "Destroyed", or "Lost".

"No member or spy information, though?" Sasuke asked his older brother. Itachi shook his head, having already examined all the other files in the room.

"Still, this information is relevant enough to warrant a visit to Sand to report it to the Kazekage." Itachi looked at Sasuke, frowning. "You should, however, go to Konoha. Your presence is still not widely accepted, especially in Sand. They still remember your past actions rather vividly." Sasuke frowned, but nodded. "You will report to Naruto and I will report to Gaara. Now, we will finish searching the rest of these rooms and the base and report anything else we find." It was about twenty minutes later when they reconvened. Neither had found anything else of importance, which both decided was strange. As they exited the base quietly, the two talked in low voices as they dashed through the trees. Despite the high winds rushing past their ears, they were still able to make out what the other person was saying with little difficulty.

"Didn't you find it odd that there were very few guards in that building?" Sasuke asked his brother, frowning. Itachi nodded, having been mulling over that very fact since he had entered the building. "I don't understand what's going on. It seems too easy to have just gotten this information, and then enter into a base that was practically empty, but yet… this was the only information we could find. This is rather priceless at that, but it was so… easily found." Itachi nodded, having already come to the same conclusion Sasuke was drawing. "So… it means that this was staged. They _wanted_ us to find their bases."

"That is what I have concluded," Itachi responded. Sasuke frowned, staring hard into the distance.

"…But why?" Sasuke asked. "Do they want something that we have? Are they trying to lead us somewhere and trap us?"

"Very plausible. It could also be fake information. Or it could be a way to evaluate what we know." Both men fell silent, going over every angle and reason for the easily accessed information. Neither was satisfied with their thoughts, nor the reasons for their enemies leaving behind the critical information. As night fell and the two continued their trek towards Sand and Leaf, they knew that whatever this group was planning, it would not bode well for them.

* * *

><p>"…cannot imagine <em>why<em> our allies would disapprove of such a condition. It is surely the best for both of our villages!" She wasn't even sure what they were talking about anymore. Was this about the exorbitant fee they wanted Konoha to pay; the request to have two of Konoha's secret jutsus; or the one where they wanted personal training from the Hokage? Whatever it was, it was ridiculous.

Sakura groaned, letting her head fall against the table. The Suna elders paid her no mind and continued to bicker, slowly drawing the ire of their leader. She knew it would be a few more seconds until Gaara exploded.

_Four… three… two… one…_

"Enough!" A strand of sand whipped around the table, rubbing roughly enough against the back of the elders heads to give them a warning. They all fell silent, turning their gazes towards their Kazekage. Gaara, despite his angered tone, looked relatively bored and annoyed—not murderous. "We have already gotten more than our fair share from Konoha. Sakura has expressed what terms the Hidden Leaf is willing to work out with our village, and the terms are more than beneficial to us. To refuse would be foolish. We can also agree to the desires of the Leaf. They are our strongest ally, much as we are theirs, and to do anything to stress that relationship is putting us at a disadvantage. There are many villages salivating at the chance to get on Naruto's good side and be his right-hand ally. He has chosen us. We have chosen him. Let us not forget the bond our villages share." Sakura smiled, perking up at Gaara's speech.

Grinning, she clapped her hands together, drawing all of the attention back to her. "Gaara is right! Leaf values the relationship with the Hidden Sand more than any other village. You ask any Konoha shinobi who they would like to be beside them on the battlefield, nine out of ten will always answer with Sand. We want our relationship to remain strong and little disagreements about this stuff in the treaty won't do that relationship any favors. I can't make too many more concessions without putting the entire treaty in danger of not getting approved by my village. So let's agree on adjusting the shared shinobi patrols and…" Sakura stood up, leaning over the table to point at the treaty, as she continued to speak. The surrounding council listened intently as Sakura mustered every ounce of diplomatic ability she had to try and convince them to sign the stupid treaty she had been working on for over a week.

Having Hajime with her had worked. She had received many concessions rather easily—many things that related to aid to the village and receiving refugees and help with food in times of crisis—without having to give Suna too many rare jutsus or promises to send their strongest shinobi to train Suna shinobi (at one point, they had demanded she stay at their hospital and whip it into shape; another time, they wanted the Copy Ninja to teach jutsus to their Academy students; a final request was to send in one of the Hyuugas to stay in their village) in return. The council men had almost melted when they first saw Hajime. Gradually, though, his charm wore off, and now, with the treaty in its final stages, it was no longer necessary to carry her baby around at every moment.

So at the moment, Temari was watching Hajime. She was camping out in Gaara's office, gleefully babysitting the infant. Sakura had almost put Sai in charge of her son, but at seeing the blonde, happily changed her mind and asked the woman to watch her baby. Sakura did love Sai and trusted the man with her life; however, she hardly trusted his babysitting skills. It seemed much more probable that the older sibling of two troublesome little brothers would have far more experience in watching a child than an emotionally stunted, ex-Root ANBU member.

As she finished her last point, Sakura leaned back from the treaty, watching the elders mull over her words. Gaara leaned back in his seat, locking eyes with her. He nodded slightly, confirming that he would approve the treaty if his council would. After a few moments of intense discussion in loud whispers, the seven Sand elders finally looked up and met Sakura's eyes.

"We are willing to agree to your conditions." Those eight words felt like music to her ears. Sakura almost sagged in relief. _Finally_. After nine days, they had finally come to a consensus. She could finally send the treaty home to get Naruto to look over it and approve it. Then once he sent back his reply, she could share the message with Gaara. And then, _then_, she could go home. Once Gaara and Naruto confirmed the treaty, they would have to have an official meeting to sign it together and shake hands and all those other formalities. But the hard work was now over. The treaty was made and ready to go.

…Unless, of course, Naruto decided that he didn't like something in the treaty. Then she would be stuck here for who knows how long as she tried to haggle with the Sand council _again_.

"Are you all in agreement?" Gaara asked, leaning his cheek on his hand. Sometimes, his mannerisms reminded her so much like Naruto. The red-head was in the same position that Naruto always took when he was bored with meetings. The two were so similar in some ways, it was scary.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama," his elders chorused. Gaara nodded, finally straightening up. He used his sand to pull the treaty into his hand. Quickly, he signed his name at the bottom, rolled the treaty up, and handed it over to Sakura. She nodded, knowing that he was entrusting her to code the treaty so that no one would understand it, should the carrier be intercepted, and then to safely get it to Naruto.

Of course, that would be an easy task for her. She would implant the coded scroll into one of her slug summons, and then borrow one of Itachi's summons to transport the slug to Konoha. Itachi hadn't exactly given her complete control over his crow summons, but he had given her permission to summon them and use them when necessary. The crows were all ordered to listen to her, though they always reported back to Itachi with whatever her command was. She couldn't really use them to fight, but they were amazing recon units and messengers. Granted, he had only given her permission to use his smaller crows. And only three max at a time.

He had permission to use her slug summons, though, too. He couldn't summon the full, huge form of Katsuyu, but her tiny slug forms were accessible to him. He could use them to heal or to transport things and communicate with her and Tsunade.

"With that, this meeting is dismissed. Sakura-san, before you go to code that scroll, I'd like to talk to you about other matters." The rest of the council filed out of the room, leaving Gaara and Sakura alone. From underneath his robes, he withdrew another scroll, laying it out on the table.

"This is the compilation of information from all of the other villages about that jutsu trade organization. You gave me your information, which has been added to this scroll. This specific scroll is for you to take back to the village. However, I figured you would like to look over everything and tell me what you think." Sakura smiled, nodding and leaning over to look at the scroll. As she was reading, a messenger knocked on the door. Gaara sighed, standing to take care of it, while Sakura continued to read.

From the doorway, she could hear the messenger say, "Sorry to interrupt, Kazekage-sama, however, we have an ANBU from the Hidden Leaf. He says he has important information that had to be delivered to you immediately." Sakura perked up, looking up curiously. It wasn't very often that Naruto sent ANBU members to Gaara. Something had to have happened. Her pulse began to race as she hoped that nothing had happened to her village.

"Send him in," Gaara replied, his face becoming stony. He had also realized the oddity of the situation and knew whatever the message was, it would not be good for them. Sakura closed her eyes, checking her chakra bond with Itachi, hoping that he was not injured. She could usually tell if he was fighting. Of course, since Itachi had been revived for almost three years, she was not nearly as sensitive to the chakra link as she once had been. The little inflections of chakra she had used to feel had become so diluted and common place that she no longer recognized them unless straining to feel them.

Sakura's eyes snapped open as she realized that she could sense Itachi easier than usual. And then, seeing that familiar porcelain mask appear in the doorway—well, she could have sworn her heart jumped into her throat. Why on earth was Itachi here? Had something horrible happened? She bit her lip, rushing around the table to meet him, but stopped short, letting Gaara and Itachi talk. Technically, Gaara didn't know who he was.

"Kazekage-sama," Itachi greeted, bowing. Gaara nodded back. "I was sent on a mission to investigate a lead we received with the jutsu trade. I have acquired information and Hokage-sama ordered me to report to you first before returning home because you are compiling a scroll with all of the information to send out to all of the other villages."

"That is correct. Actually, we are currently discussing the information that all of the villages have received. Please, join us. I am sure you know Sakura-san." She met Itachi's eyes and smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up at seeing him.

"Very well," Itachi responded. She was sure he was smiling underneath her mask. Gaara nodded, still unaware of the ANBU member's true identity. Itachi unrolled the scroll containing his information, letting Gaara read over it, as Sakura continued to read over the other scroll. Gently, Itachi placed a hand on her lower back, trailing his fingers underneath the hem of her shirt. She shivered and smiled up at him, looking back down at her scroll when he removed his hand.

They remained silent for several minutes, until Gaara finished reading over Itachi's information. "This is quite new information. While we have discovered several of their bases, we do not have such a comprehensive list. Of course, if we cross-check this list with what members they are known to have, we may have several leads as to where the spies are coming from in each village. This may give us the insight into where these people come from."

Sakura ignored their continuing conversation, instead letting her eyes drift down towards the bottom of the scroll. She saw several names and brief descriptions of the shinobi supposed to be in the group. As she read the short list of names of members known, she felt her heart stop. Her mouth went dry as she read and re-read the names. Her eyes flickered to the physical descriptions and though she tried to tell herself that it could just be a _coincidence_, deep inside, she knew it wasn't.

Her finger came up to trace the familiar letters. Then she closed her eyes, feeling faint. She felt like she would throw up because she just wished this was all a horrible mistake. She hadn't felt something like this since the time she had discovered the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre so many years ago.

"Gaara," Sakura called out, interrupting his and Itachi's conversation. Both men turned to her. "In a note, it says that you have pictures of some of these members. Do you have any of these two?" Gaara looked down to where her finger pointed and nodded.

"Surprisingly enough, yes. They were two of the three pictures we were able to get. Apparently, Cloud had a long-term mission involving this group and these were the only two operatives they managed to snag pictures of. Here, the seals to release the pictures are Dragon, Dog, Dog, Ox." Sakura did as he commanded, feeling her hands tremble as a poof sounded, three pictures appearing on the surface of the scroll. One picture she ignored; the other two she picked up, praying with everything in her that what she thought was a horrible, horrible coincidence.

And then she dropped the pictures, turning stark white and wondering where the closest trash can was so that she could vomit.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked her, reaching out to steady her. "What's wrong? Do you know them?" She closed her eyes, painfully nodding. "Who are they?"

She looked down at the pictures, knowing that even if she hadn't seen them in six years, she would recognize them _anywhere_. Even if they had used slightly different names (her mother's maiden name and their names, just with the letters rearranged), the physical descriptions matched.

Yeah, and the woman still had that bright blonde hair and green eyes, while the man had that faded pink hair and bright blue eyes. They were older, of course, and she could hardly believe that they could be doing something like this, but there was no denying it.

"…They… they're my parents."

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><p><em><strong>XxX<strong>_

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><p>I am so sleepy. Editing this chapter was just annoying. It seemed to take forever. Ughh...<p>

I think I had a few things I wanted to talk about in this chapter. Let's see...

1. Gaara seemed, to me at least, that he was like bending over backwards to make sure the treaty would be a good deal for Konoha. I tried to make it clearer as the treaty was talked about more that Gaara was annoyed with the stupid demands his council was making (like wanting Kakashi to come and train their shinobi). Suna got plenty of concessions in the treaty, stuff like getting a medic to come and train their hospital staff (just someone who isn't Sakura), a joint Leaf-Suna shinobi exchange program where both villages send shinobi to train students and other ninja; and there would have been exchanges of jutsus and other information trades. So Suna and Konoha both got good ends in the treaty.

2. Sakura and Sasuke's genin team are kinda powerful. But they are about the same age when Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were being trained by the Sannin. So their abilities aren't too farfetched. Hideyo doesn't have as good as chakra control as Sakura does, but he has more chakra reserves than she had. Also, when it says he uses chakra-enhanced strength, it's not the super smashing crater punches that Tsunade and Sakura have, but simply using chakra to boost his strength, so that he can lift Fuuka. It's the same thing Sakura would do when she drags patients around. Also, Itachi decides to help train the kids because he's bored and he doesn't want to return home just yet. Plus he wants to spend time with Sasuke.

I think that's it. If you have questions, just be sure to ask. I'll do my best to respond in a (somewhat) timely manner. I hope.

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><p><em><strong>Next Chapter:<strong>_

_Sakura comes face to face with the truth that her parents have been a part of the jutsu trade. To label them as traitors, she knows will be the end of them. Desperately, she hopes this is all a big mistake. Hajime can't have two sets of traitorous grandparents... at least, she hopes.  
><em>

**_Chapter Twenty-Eight: Shadow_**

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><p>I'll try for timelier updates. On another note, before I go, I'd love it if you guys would check out my profile. I have a personal blurb about a guy I met and I'd love some relationship advice about it. I'm really thinking about being extremely honest with him and doing something like, "Yo. I like you, more than just a friend. How do you feel about me, dude?" Not so bluntly, of course. Might try to just work it into a conversation all nonchalantly ("Yeah, I like you. Wanna go see the new Superman movie?") These last two sentences will make much more sense after you read the background story on how I met this guy lol<p>

Gawds, I'm almost 19 and I still can't figure out boys. Help a girl out, would ya? PM me or give me advice in a review; I would appreciate it so much! But even if you don't want to offer any hints, I hope you still enjoyed the chapter! :D Peace out. See you (hopefully) soon!


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